New Mars Exploration Rover Successful First Test Drive

NASA’s Mars 2020 exploration rover was first commissioned. This rover, which has not yet been named, has been commissioned for several meters. It was conducted in the clean room of the spacecraft assembly facility within the NASA Jet Propulsion Research Institute in Pasadena, California.

The test lasted more than 10 hours, but there was no problem. The six-wheeled rover succeeded in demonstrating all necessary work. He said he handled the latest autonomous navigation system tests well. On the first trip, it traveled 1m at a time, and the engineer evaluated the movement and maneuverability. I drove on an incline to reproduce the bumpy road that I stumbled across on Mars.

Mars gravity is 38% of Earth’s gravity. The Tomcer Rover weighs 1,050 kg, but it gets considerably lighter when it lands on Mars. According to NASA, the test went quite well. When the Mars 2020 probe revealed that Mars soil would be driving, several steps were omitted. The Mars 2020 mission is scheduled for July 2020, and the probe will land on Mars on February 18, 2021.

Data can be collected through the Radar Imager for Mars Subsurface Experiment (RIMFAX), a device that scans the surface with a radar wave mounted on the rover. Depending on what material is right under the rover, the RIMFAX is capable of radar photography to depths of over 10m on Mars.

In addition, it is equipped with an autonomous driving function through a vehicle computer that judges based on data collected with a high-resolution wide-angle color camera, which makes it more independent than before. Wheels are also expected to move 200m per day with increased durability. Curiosity, an existing Mars exploration rover, set the maximum distance per day at 214m. Of course, the tires of Curio City, who have been active in Hwaseong for 7 years, have become tattered.

The exploration rover explores the bottom of an ancient lake, which is expected to show signs of life upon arrival on Mars. It also surveys planetary climate and geology, and holds surface samples for future missions. It also performs missions in pairs with Mars helicopters to be mounted on the exploration rover. Related information can be found here .