Final Project

Natalie K.

Legislator:  Ray Allen, Representative

(Click on the image above to enlarge.)

Improved Mars Rover

The Mars Mission of 1997, which supplied the first rover to the red planet, Sojourner, also exposed the inferiority of remote robotic exploration.  A vastly improved machine will be required for future Martian missions.  In a March 2, 1998 Machine Design article, William Whittaker, head of Carnegie Mellon University’s Field Robotic Center, summed up the next generation rover requirements in one brief statement.  The need for “Machines that go places.  That move.  That think.  That decide.  That explore.  All on their own.” 

            

Whittaker’s achievements tend to back up this statement.  His first rover type robot was a 1,600-pound vehicle named Nomad.  This robot, about the size of a small car, was able to perform successfully in the Ataeama Desert of Chile, 7000 feet above sea level in June of 1997.  Nomad was equipped with color stereo video cameras, a separate camera for panorama photos which aided the rover with the ability to drive itself around obstacles, according to an article in the “NASA space link website”.

            

The next rover to visit Mars is being developed by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Lockhead Martian Astronautics of Denver, Colorado, as pronounced in a July 28, 9000 article on the “NASA Science News” web page.  The new rover will weigh over 300 pounds and has a range of 110 yards per Martian day.  Equipment will include 360-degree, panoramic, color, infrared camera, an Alpha-Proton X-ray Spectrometer to search for evidence of water in the Martian soil.  The rover will also possess a Rock Abrasion Tool to remove surface areas of rocks and soil for studying what is underneath their exterior. 

            

In my reading and research on the rover, I have come to the conclusion that an ideal rover should be sized somewhere midway between the Lockhead Martain rover and Nomad created by Mr. Whittaker of the Field Robotic Center of Carnegie Mellon University.  The robot should have some form of artificial intelligence with autonomous ability to recognize changes in terrain and be able to negotiate around obstructions in its path.  It should be constructed in a manner, which would enable the vehicle to right itself in the event of a fall or being tipped over.  I envision a large rectangular body with two large wheels and a pivoting front wheel centered near the middle of the body providing a low center of gravity.  The two, large, drive wheels would have variable torque, individual reversible motors.  The flat body would be covered with solar cells on both sides.  When one side needs recharging, the rover could rotate its’ self 180 degrees to expose the photovoltaic cells for recharging the depleted battery while operating on the fresh side.  The body should house a mini-lab to test soil and rock samples onsite with chemical, photographic, spectrographic, and hardness tests, storing the data to the onboard computer for relay to Earth via the onboard uplink antenna.  These improvements would create a more rugged rover with greater range and scientific research ability.  

Last Updated: 09/07/01