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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
