Experience in Creating Self‐Propelled Undercarriages for Planet Rovers

A novel trend in engineering—space transport engineering—has been developing for more than 20 years. Undoubtedly, planet rovers also will occupy a prominent place in the study and development of the planets and their satellites. The results of the Lunokhod‐1 and Lunokhod‐2 operation on the Moon produced extensive scientific material for subsequent works. The Soviet Lunokhod and American LRV were machines with wheels. Years later, caterpillar, walking, wheel‐walking, and hopping machines have been studied. The choice of a mode of locomotion that is suitable for the conditions on the planet was not the only problem to be solved by scientists and designers. Another is the determination of the ground properties. A family of mobile apparatus and instruments is now intended for determining the surface properties of the Moon, Mars and its satellite Phobos, and Venus. One of the difficult problems to solve is to carry out tests on the Earth in view of the conditions on the planet. To perform the terrestrial tests, platforms, equivalent to the lunar and Martian surfaces, have been selected, and special equipment has been produced to simulate the conditions of gravitation. The next task is the development of the Marsokhod, a planet rover to operate on Mars. The advanced concept of the Marsokhod consists of a six‐wheeled, self‐propelled undercarriage, with a wheel‐walking mode of motion. The kinematic diagram of this undercarriage, due to several degrees of freedom, contributes to a good adaptation to an intricate relief of terrains.