Integrating advanced mobility into lunar surface exploration

A Four-Wheel-Rhombus-Arranged Mobility System for a New Lunar Robotic Rover

“…Mission failure sometimes occurs, for example the Russian Lunokhod 2 encountered difficulty when its wheel sank into the soft lunar terrain near a crater with a depth of 200mm. In order to carry out the mission to survey a large area of the lunar surface, the unmanned robotic rover is required to safely travel through unfamiliar terrain over a long distance and accomplish its exploration task under some environmental conditions such as dusty, soft terrain with rough rocks, a low-gravity environment and extreme differences in temperature [12–15]. It should be mentioned that, unlike the Apollo Lunar Roving Vehicle driven by astronauts for Apollo missions 15, 16 and 17 [16], high mobility with multi-axis properties are usually essential requirements for an unmanned lunar rover.…”

“…To meet the challenge, some researchers have been devoted to investigating the terramechanics mechanism of wheel-soil contact problems [12–14] or mobility [15]. Grand et al [17] gave a general formulation of the kinetostatic model of articulated wheeled-legged rovers and investigated the high stability and traction performance during motion on rough terrains.…”

“…In addition, rovers are also weight and power limited, subject to space limitations and the launching cost of the rockets. Therefore, the following basic requirements of an unmanned robotic lunar rover make its design challenging: (1) Simple mechanism with high reliability (2) Lightweight for low launching cost (3) High degree of mobility in very rough terrain (4) Low power consumption for long-term exploration (5) Small size for the limit of loading space of rocket To meet the challenge, some researchers have been devoted to investigating the terramechanics mechanism of wheel-soil contact problems [12][13][14] or mobility [15]. Grand et al [17] gave a general formulation of the kinetostatic model of articulated wheeled-legged rovers and investigated the high stability and traction performance during motion on rough terrains.…”