Transformable Nano Rover for Space Exploration

This letter introduces a novel nano rover designed to transform its shape for efficient movement on lunar surfaces. The rover, resembling a compact ball, has a diameter of roughly 80 mm and a mass around 250 g. Its transformational mechanism allows for compactness during planetary transportation, with enhanced mobility achieved through the use of extendable wheels, a tail stabilizer, and cameras. To traverse soft terrains efficiently, the rover utilizes an eccentric wheel mechanism, offering two distinct movement modes based on wheel synchronization. This mechanism provides a locomotion velocity of 20 mm/s or more on a flat surface. Moreover, it features onboard image processing to detect spacecraft shielded by Multi-Layer Insulation (MLI) films, facilitating autonomous control and selective image transmission. This rover has been deployed in a real space mission, having been mounted on a lunar lander. This letter presents the design specifics of this transformable rover and results from field tests simulating lunar conditions. These tests affirmed the efficacy of the proposed motion mechanism and onboard image processing.