Reader Response Draft 3

In the article "Moving on Mars" (2019), the European Space Agency (ESA) documented the locomotion system of Rosalind Franklin which was created for the ExoMars mission in 2023. The system combines several different components to traverse the various terrains of Mars. The article states that the wheels of other rovers tend to get stuck while carrying out their mission on Mars, thus ESA implemented Wheel-walking on the Rosalind Franklin. Wheel-walking mimics leg motion by driving individual wheels and independently rotating the axes to change the rover's height and angle according to the surrounding terrain. In the slides "First Experimental investigations on Wheel-Walking for improving Triple-Bogie rover locomotion performances'' (2015), the ESA stated that Rosalind Franklin's locomotion system is based on a triple-bogie concept made up of two lateral bogies and a transverse bogie. It is equipped with adaptable metal wheels that allow for more fluid control and motion that is further aided by an inclinometer and gyroscope ("Moving on Mars", 2019). Rosalind Franklin can move in all four directions and climb with its wheel walking feature. Working together with its flexible wheels, inclinometer, and gyroscope it will be able to complete its mission on Mars.

Two key features of Rosalind Franklin are its inclinometer and gyroscope that help the system make judgments of steep inclines when moving off Kazachok (ExoMars locomotion tests, 2019). This is exceptionally important as the whole operation can't be controlled remotely due to the time it takes a signal to return from Mars is four to twenty-four minutes (Fit for Mars, 2019), thus making mobility decisions on its own is crucial. In the article "ExoMars locomotion tests" (2019), the rover went through multiple tests moving off the landing platform to simulate the possible scenarios. The tests angled Kazachok from five to thirty-five degrees as the test rover makes its way off autonomously, to make the experiment more realistic, the rover's weight has been manipulated as the gravity in Mars is only a third of Earth's gravity.

Another feature is its wheel walking ability. When faced with a dune, Rosalind Franklin's unique wheel walking comes into play. The wheels are able to increase in height, swing forward, and rotate the angles of the wheels to match the surface and achieve walking similar to humans. This motion gives good friction on slopes and soft terrains and is especially effective as there is minimal need to drive the wheels like a normal car which leads to the problem of stuck wheels in soft soil/ mud. As stated in "ExoMars locomotion tests" (2019), Rosalind Franklin is equipped with two cameras to allow 3D mapping and pick up any obstacle ahead, the system will then calculate the safest route to proceed with (Moving on Mars, 2019). When face with rocks, Rosalind Franklin is built on a triple-bogie locomotion system, two lateral and a transverse bogie, which allows it to drive pass rocks bigger than its wheels. In "European Space Agency [European Space Agency, ESA], 2019", the rover had to overcome differently shaped rock from circular, ninty degrees angled, and uneven pointed rocks in different orientations up to a height of 250 millimeters. In addition to the triple-bogie, the flexible metallic wheels equipped with springs help to grab onto the surface of the rocks and gain traction to climb up.

Although all these features help to reduce the chance of failure in the movement of Rosalind Franklin. The wheels found it difficult at times to gain traction when the rover was made to exit Kazachok angled at five to thirty-five degrees (ExoMars locomotion test, 2019). In another experiment, it showed that flexible wheels are able to gain traction at a forty degrees angle in a static stability test (Michaud, 2008). This only shows that if Kazachok was to land in an unfavorable location which angled it above forty degrees, the failure of the locomotion system is possible.

With all the features working together and multiple tests ran by the research team, the locomotion system of Rosalind Franklin will be the key to success in the mission.

 

 

References

European Space Agency. (2019). ExoMars locomotion tests. https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Images/2019/03/ExoMars_locomotion_tests

European Space Agency. (2019). Fit for Mars. https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Human_and_Robotic_Exploration/Exploration/ExoMars/Fit_for_Mars

European Space Agency. (2019). Moving on Mars. https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Human_and_Robotic_Exploration/Exploration/ExoMars/Moving_on_Mars

European Space Agency. (2015). First Experimental investigations on Wheel-Walking for improving Triple-Bogie rover locomotion performances.

https://robotics.estec.esa.int/ASTRA/Astra2015/Presentations/Session%202A/95665_Azkarate.pdf

European Space Agency [European Space Agency, ESA]. (2019, August 17). ExoMars – Moving on Mars [Video].YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNItE7zjhq8&t=122s

Michaud.S, Hoepflinger,M, Thueer,T, Lee,C, Krebs,A, Despont,B, Gibbesch,A, Richter,L (2008).  LESSON LEARNED FROM EXOMARS LOCOMOTION SYSTEM TEST
CAMPAIGN.  https://robotics.estec.esa.int/ASTRA/Astra2008/S03/03_02_Michaud.pdf

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