5 accepted papers
Surface-mobile platforms have explored the moon and the red planet for nearly half century, providing a wealth of scientific data. However, surface mobility on planetary bodies remains a challenging task. However, surface mobility on planetary bodies remains a challenging task. In this paper, the fo…
Surface-mobile platforms have explored the moon and the red planet for nearly half century, providing a wealth of scientific data. However, surface mobility on planetary bodies remains a challenging task. In this paper, the formulation of reaction force by a grouser with a generalized geometry for a
This study analyzes the surface sliding behavior of space probes in simulated extraterrestrial environments. When a space probe lands on an extraterrestrial body, its landing gear (footpad, landing legs) contacts and slides along the ground surface. The influence of various parameters (i.e., footpad…
This paper presents a novel approach to sampling subsurface asteroidal regolith under severe time constraints. Sampling operations that must be completed within a few hours require techniques that can manage subsurface obstructions that may be encountered. The large uncertainties due to our lack of…
This letter presents the hopping performance evaluation on three types of terrains and novel foot pad designs for efficient traverse of hopping rovers. Hopping rovers, called Hopper, are expected to explore scientific richness areas where wheeled vehicles are hard to traverse. In order to succeed in