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Before sending a robot to trace a planet to explore the landscape of Mars or Venus, we must test it here on Earth. Two of these robotic platforms under development for future missions are being tested in the facilities of the European Space Agency: a rolling and a jumper.
The Roller is currently ready for the Red Planet as part of the ESA March 2020 Program. We have just completed a week of testing in the Spanish Desert, one of the many badog programs used by Mars. It looks good. The gravity is a little different, of course, and there is a little more atmosphere, but it is close enough to test some things.
The controlling team Charlie, who called the prototype, was doing it hundreds of miles away. , in the UK – it's not really an interplanetary distance, but they have of course thought to simulate the delay that the operators would encounter if the mobile was actually on Mars. He would also have a ton of instruments on board.
Exploration and navigation were still entirely done using the information collected by the rover using radar and cameras, and the rover exercise was also involved. It rained for a day, which is extremely unlikely on Mars, but the operators presumably claimed it was a dust storm and rolled with it.
Another Earth badog test is scheduled for February in the Atacama Desert in Chile. To learn more about the ExoMars rover and the Mars 2020 mission, click here.
The other robot announced by the ESA this week does not belong to him but was developed by ETH Zurich: the SpaceBok – you know, like springbok. Researchers believe that moving around like a well-known ungulate could be a good way to get around on other planets.
It's good to ride on stable wheels, of course, but there is no point in getting on the other side of a rock or going down a ravine to discover an interesting mineral deposit. SpaceBok is supposed to be an extremely stable skipping machine that can cross rough terrain or walk with a normal quadruped gait according to its needs (normal for robots).
"This is not particularly useful on Earth," admits Elias Hampp, member of the SpaceBok team, but "he could reach a height of four meters on the moon. This would provide a quick and efficient way to move forward.
He was doing some testing in ESA's Mars Yard sandbox, a small enclosure full of soil and Mars-type rocks. The team is looking to improve its range with better vision – the better it can see where it will land and better SpaceBok will better bond this landing.
The interplanetary missions are very fashionable at the moment, and we might even see some private trips to the moon and march soon. So, even if NASA or ESA do not decide to introduce SpaceBok (or such a creative robot) into the solar system, a generous sponsor may do so.
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