Mars Rovers
and Robotic Rover Research
A key element of Mars missions is the use of remotely controlled small
robotic rovers for planet surface exploration. NASA has an ongoing program
designed to develop telerobotic capabilities for remote mobility and
manipulation.
Space robotics technology requirements include: the need for manual and
automated control, nonrepetitive tasks, time delay between operator and
manipulator, flexible manipulators with complex dynamics, novel
locomotion, operations in the space environment, and the ability to
recover from unplanned events.
Below is a list of planetary surface robotics targeted for use on Mars:
- Sojourner:
arrived on Mars July 4, 1997, to explore the terrain of
Mars within sight of the Pathfinder lander, conducting technology and
science experiments.
- Marsokhod: a joint U.S.
and Russia effort used to test a variety of new sensors and operational
capabilities, a part of Intelligent
Mechanisms Group at NASA Ames.
- Rocky 7 Prototype Mars
Rover: designed to demonstrate new technology concepts for use in a
long-range (50 km) traversal across Mars, scheduled for early in the next
decade.
- Nomad:
robotic rover designed by Carnegie Mellon's Robotics Institute explores
a desert in northern Chile
to test the ability of the robot to navigate, explore and perform science
tasks remotely.
- NASA Space
Telerobotics Program: an overview of NASA's ongoing research program
to develop new telerobotics technologies.
