Development of a Flexible Wheel That Allows Rovers to Traverse Lunar Soil

Abstract

Lunar rovers are required to traverse rough terrains that include craters and rear cliffs, which are scientifically important locations that need to be explored. Recently, wheeled rovers have been gaining popularity for their use in conducting planetary exploration missions. However, there is a problem associated with wheeled rovers in that they are likely to get stuck in soil while traversing such terrains. In this study, we develop a new flexible wheel. This wheel can traverse soft soil. We describe an interaction model between the flexible wheel and soft soil. Then, on the basis of this model, we propose new wheel forms. In addition, to determine the traversability of the proposed wheel on the basis of slip ratio and sinkage, we perform running experiments on soil, similar to regolith.