Nasa watch drivers#

The rover prototype also demonstrated it will autonomously stop moving if it approaches a slope that is too steep for it to climb or if it were to ever lose track of where it is on the Moon. Using the latest build of the rover software, engineers also tested out the prototype’s ability to “inch-worm” – or move its wheels in a special, caterpillar-like coordinated way that helps the rover get itself unstuck. “We wanted to see if the rover is capable of moving forward in an extreme sinkage environment, and how much slower VIPER might drive or how much additional power the rover would use because of tricky soil conditions,” said Mercedes Herreras-Martinez VIPER risk manager and mission systems engineering technical interchange lead at Ames. The tests also helped engineers determine how well the rover will handle challenging conditions on the lunar surface. “These tests allowed us to verify the performance of the rover mobility system and know it will work well on the Moon.” “These tests allowed us to verify the performance of the rover mobility system and know it will work well on the Moon.” (NASA image)

Nasa watch drivers#

“Unlike most car engines, which use a throttle and brake to speed up and slow down all four wheels, VIPER’s motor controllers make the rover wheels turn at the force and rate the drivers want, with extreme precision to allow for better performance,” said Arno Rogg, test director and rover systems engineer at NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley. This MGRU3 features motor controllers specially designed for the Moon rover – a critical piece of hardware in the rover’s mobility system that controls the motors that send power to the rover’s four wheels. NASA’s Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover prototype recently endured the most realistic tests to date of its ability to drive through the most difficult terrain during its mission to the Moon’s the South Pole.Įngineers tested the latest VIPER mobility engineering test unit, known as Moon Gravitation Representative Unit 3 (MGRU3) in the Simulated Lunar Operations (SLOPE) Laboratory at NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland.