Alternative Locomotion Modalities for Lunar Rover

Interplanetary exploration is at its prime since space transportation technology has become more convenient than ever. Our moon is the primary candidate to become the first extraterrestrial base of space flight operations in the future. The rocker bogie wheel design has been the standard design of locomotion modality for exploration rovers. It could navigate lunar regolith terrain but does not perform well on steep slopes and has the tendency to get permanently stuck on granular media. Alternatively, a legged rover design which contains more degree of freedom joints could free itself when become stuck and could navigate slopes more safely. This paper contains the process of designing and experimenting on an alternative locomotion modality for lunar regolith which could adapt to navigate up and down sloped terrains. In addition, the design would also allow for transformation into roll mode to travel downhill which would optimize energy consumption throughout different types of encountered terrains.