Germany
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Mobility Systems
To this category belong all A&R systems aimed at transporting over variable distance payload (i.e. provide mobility to payload) In the context of planetary application a further distinction can be made in: Rovers (on the surface): whether relying on wheels, tracks, legs or other exotic locomotion principles (e.g. hopping, slithering) these rely on contact to the surface to propel themselves. The category can be further divided into:
- Micro rovers (< 5 kg in mass): these are typically used to deploy scientific instruments in the immediate surroundings (<10 m) of a lander. Examples of rovers realised by the A&R Section are PROLERO, Nanokhod
- Mini rovers (< 100 kg in mass): these may still be used as lander bound or as completely autonomous systems capable of venturing out for few hundreds of meters. Examples of rovers developed by the A&R Section are MIRO, SOLERO, EXOMADER, Aramies
- Large rovers (> 100 kg in mass): these provide mobility in the range of several kilometres. The A&R Section has/is developed/developing the LRM, EXOMARS
Aerobots (over the surface): in planets endowed with an atmosphere, the static (buoyancy) or dynamic lift generated by the atmosphere makes flying a convenient locomotion means. A further subdivision of the class is made into:
- Lighter than atmosphere (LTA): balloons, blimps, airships and montgolfieres
- Heavier than atmosphere (HTA): gliders, airplanes, gyrocopters and helicopters
What qualifies them as robots is the ability of autonomously navigate the atmosphere relying on sophisticated navigation and aerobot localisation means, the A&R section has developed such means in the “Imaging and Localisation Package for Planetary Aerobot” activities.
Subsurface robots (under the surface): subsoil investigation is a needed feature of planetary exploration. While geochemistry studies the composition and morphology of soil and exobiology searches for traces of extinct or extant life, they both require analysis of soil samples unaffected by surface weathering processes. This requires either the analysis instruments are brought into the soil or that soil samples are extracted from the subsurface. Subsurface robots provide these abilities. This class of robots may be divided in two main categories:
- Robotised drills: only a sampling/instrumented head is propelled into the soil. the head maintains a rigid mechanical connection with the part of the drill remaining on the surface. The A&R Section has developed a prototype of compact robotised drill in he frame of the “Micro-robots for Scientific Applications II” activity.
- Robotic moles: the complete robot buries itself into the soil maintaining at most a tether connection to the surface. The A&R Section has developed a prototype of such device in the “Guided Mole Development” activity.