'SPACE' in News

China unveils its first and unnamed moon rover

Beijing (XNA) Sep 30, 2013 - Chinese scientists described the country's first

moon rover on Wednesday and invited the global public to come up with a name for it. Zhao Xiaojin, director of the aerospace department of the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, depicted the lunar rover an orbiter adaptable to harsh environments; a highly efficient and integrated robot; and a high altitude "patrolman" carrying the dreams of Asia.

The Chang'e-3 mission to moon, named after a Chinese lunar goddess, will take place in December, when a Chinese spacecraft will soft-land on a celestial body for the first time.The rover has two wings, stands on six wheels, weighs 140 kg and will be powered by solar energy.
"When it arrives in lunar orbit on board a lander, the rover will choose the best landing site and gently touch down the moon's surface, using optical and microwave sensors to avoid rocks and craters," Zhao said.
The rover will "select the best route, use minimal fuel and make the smallest possible error" during landing and is capable of hovering to steer clear of obstacles, he said. ... more

NASA Wants Investigations for a Mars 2020 Rover
Washington DC (SPX) Sep 30, 2013: Planning for NASA's 2020 Mars rover envisions a 

basic structure that capitalizes on the design and engineering work done for the NASA rover Curiosity, which landed on Mars in 2012, but with new science instruments selected through competition for accomplishing different science objectives.
NASA has released its announcement of an open competition for the planetary community to submit proposals for the science and exploration technology instruments that would be carried aboard the agency's next Mars rover, scheduled for launch in July/August of 2020.
The Mars 2020 rover will explore and assess Mars as a potential habitat for life, search for signs of past life, collect carefully selected samples for possible future return to Earth, and demonstrate technology for future human exploration of the Red Planet.
Officially called the Mars 2020 Mission Investigations Announcement of Opportunity (AO), this competition solicits flight investigations for which each principal investigator or scientist is responsible for a complete space flight investigation, including instrument hardware, mission operations and data analysis. The total allocated cost for development of all the investigations selected and funded by NASA is approximately $130 million.

The competitively selected instruments will be placed on a rover similar to Curiosity, which landed on Mars in August 2012. Using Curiosity's design will help minimize mission costs and risks and deliver a rover that can accomplish the mission objectives. The Mars 2020 mission also would build upon the scientific accomplishments of Curiosity and other previous Mars missions. ... more

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Canadian Space Agency unveils Rover fleet

On October 19, the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) introduced a fleet of rover prototypes intended for exploration missions on the Moon or Mars.

“Canada’s reputation for excellence has been carved out through decades of innovation and technological advances such as the iconic Canadarm, Canadarm2 and Dextre,” said Minister of Industry Christian Paradis. “That legacy continues with the Next Generation Canadarm and these pioneer terrestrial rovers.”

The rovers stem from a 2009 project that committed $110 million over three years to advance robotics and space exploration technologies. NASA has already expressed interest in the rovers, which include small vehicles designed to work along side astronauts as well as large vehicles closer to the mini-Cooper sized Curiosity rover now on Mars. Some are so large that they could conceivably be used to transport astronauts. “In fact, we have an invitation right now from NASA to start working on advancing these technologies and taking them to flight for eventually a mission,” said CSA’s director-general of space exploration Gilles Leclerc. One of the prototypes has already ibeen spun off into an electric powered recreational vehicle by MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associated (MDA).

 The rovers aren’t quite ready to head for the nearest planet, though. “The horizon we’re looking at in terms of taking the technologies on these terrestrial prototypes and transferring them into a real space mission to the moon or Mars is about 2020,” said Leclerc.

<Artemis is light weight 230 kg prototype designed for lunar exploration that operate autonomously or telerobotically. Artemis’ four wheel system can spin on spot.

  







 Bombardier Recreational Products developed this SL-Commander all terrain vehicle based on its work on the Lunar Exploration Light Rover. The SL-Commander is fully automated, able to navigate with or without a driver.

 

Take a look at some more rovers below:

This 40 kg micro-rover is named Kapvik, Innu for          >

wolverine. Kapvik small stature allows it to squeeze into caves and crevices. It uses its robotic arm to raise its sensors for navigation and surveying.

 

This Robot Explorer, or Rex, is intended to take soil samples from Mars. The six wheeled 140 kg rover completed a joint field test with NASA in 2010.

  This Micro-Rover Platform with Tooling         >
Arm is designed for squeezing into tight spots. It can accompany an astronaut or deploy from a larger rover, using a tether to navigates slopes up to 65 degrees.

 See these and more rovers being tested in the CSA video