On a roll: Designing the next rover to explore Mars
Thursday, June 3, 2010 - 09:22
in Astronomy & Space
The concept of a wind-powered vehicle that can be used to explore the surface of Mars -- a "tumbleweed rover" -- has been around for more than 10 years, but there has been no consensus on exactly what that vehicle should look like. Now researchers have developed a computer model that allows engineers to test the attributes of different vehicle designs before creating costly prototypes for testing in real-world conditions.