One of the human exploration initiatives being explored by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) involves a program that would build on and extend the legacy of the Apollo program through scientific research and exploration. The construction and operation of a very low frequency radio astronomy observatory on the far side of the Moon is one of the many scientific endeavors being considered that would require a robotic lunar surface vehicle system. A supervisory controlled rover vehicle has been conceptually defined to support the construction of this large array in the 2000 to 2010 time frame. This paper describes the observatory, briefly discusses the vehicle design/operational requirements, identifies key system/subsystem options and trades, and presents the vehicle concept developed. Particular emphasis is placed on vehicle mobility system considerations.

Date Published: 10 March 1989
PDF: 8 pages
Proc. SPIE 1007, Mobile Robots III, (10 March 1989); doi: 10.1117/12.949091

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 1007:
Mobile Robots III
William J. Wolfe, Editor(s)