Analyses and testing of new mobility system for lunar rover

JAXA is carrying out research and development of a mobile robot (rover) aimed at base construction and searching for rocks and soils on the lunar surface. The target areas for base construction and lunar exploration are mainly in mountainous zones, and the moon's surface is covered by regolith. Achieving a steady run on such irregular terrain is the big technical problem for rovers. A newly developed lightweight crawler mechanism is good for driving on such irregular terrain because of its low contact force with the ground. This was determined considering the mass and expected payload of the rover. This paper presents the results of study into methods of dynamics testing and analysis which are needed in its development. This paper gives results of analyses and testing for the lunar rover mobility system.