NASA JPL directed DuAxel to run a test in the Mojave Desert.
NASA / JPL-Caltech / JD Gammell
The Mars rovers the size of a NASA car are remarkable and versatile machines capable of crossing rough terrain. But they were not made to go down the sides of the pits. So, NASA would need something like the Doxel prototype, which is a wild concept consisting of two vehicles in one vehicle.
When everyone’s together, the DuAxel is a four-wheeler rover. The back can hold itself on the ground while the front part breaks free on two wheels. The rope connects the pieces together while the front section slopes down a steep slope. This might work well for exploring the crater walls that are currently inaccessible to Mars.
NASA prototype DuAxel through its paces in the Mojave Desert, California. “DuAxel has performed extremely well in this area, successfully demonstrating its ability to approach difficult terrain, anchorage, and then detach the moored rover Axel,” robotics technology expert Issa Nisnas said in a statement released by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory on Tuesday.
The video shows the smart rover in action and how it can use the tools on board to get a closer look at what’s under its wheels.
One of the motives for developing DuAxel is to take a closer look at it one day Dark, obscure lines called the repetitive slope line That appear on the side of some Mars craters. Scientists are trying to find out if it has an aquatic origin.
The pits are too steep for a rover such as Curiosity or Determination (Which is currently on its way to Mars), but a landing gear shift machine like the DuAxel can handle the challenge.
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It’s not just the science of Mars that could benefit from the brave little rover design. “DuAxel opens up access to more extreme terrain on the bodies of planets such as the Moon, Mars and Mercury, and possibly some icy worlds, such as Jupiter’s moon Europa,” said Nisnas.
