Balloon-Based Concept Vehicle for Extreme Terrain Mobility

We describe a new concept for surface mobility on planetary bodies with atmospheres. BALLET (BALloon Locomotion for Extreme Terrain) is a balloon mobility concept with 6 evenly-distributed suspended payload modules each serving as a foot for locomotion over currently inaccessible rugged terrain on Mars and Titan. BALLET achieves its benefits through several innovations. While the physics of BALLET will apply on Venus, the environmental conditions and available component technology limit our consideration to Mars and Titan.