Article on CMU's entry to Win the Google Lunar X Prize

[Admin]

I thought this was an interesting article on what its like to build a robot for the moon.

http://www.spectrum.ieee.org/aerospace/robotic-exploration/one-teams-plan-to-win-the-google-lunar-x-prize/0

and a slide show:
http://www.spectrum.ieee.org/static/06AS_Slide_CMU

I actually got to see about half of it in person the last time I was at CMU, but they banned me from taking pictures . . . top secret at the time

[SmAsH]

those small things are solar panels right?
that looks kind of cool but very odd-shaped...

[kpmcgurk]

ya they are solar panels! It may look odd, but if you think about the fact that it will be going on the moon, then it is a different story!!!

[hemanth]

That thing is going to the moon!?
Its going to topple if it hits a rock!

[Joker94]

Its going to topple if it hits a rock!

Why, if it does go to the moon it is not like it is going to be under engineered.

And it has a wide wheel base with the mass centred so it won't fall over.(how if it falls of the cliff that is a different story)

[chelmi]

I think the design look strange because of the way solar panels are mounted. I guess this is to prevent dust to accumulate on it and decrease their efficiency.

[Weird Fishes]

That thing is going to the moon!?
Its going to topple if it hits a rock!

I’m sure the to-be-engineers at CMU know what they are doing. =P

[sdk32285]

The two wheels per side are attached to a central pivot point. And then each side is attached through a linkage in the body that allows the rover to passively have body averaging (similar to a gear differential) this lets the rover climb over rocks and maintain great stability.

One big consideration for lunar solar panel design is whether the mission is on the equator or near the poles. A polar mission would want the solar panels to be vertical. While a equatorial mission would want the panels to be horizontal.

The other big obstacle to solar panel design is to have space to radiate heat so you do not destroy the rovers components.

There is actually a new version of the rover. The image from admin was a second prototype.
Here is the third prototype http://astrobotictechnology.com/2009/07/19/new-design-overcomes-intense-lunar-heat/