Even with the development of increasingly precise landers, we don't
want to be stuck in just one spot on Mars since we never know what
exciting discovery might be just around the next bend. Rovers give us
the ability to explore an area beyond the place where landers touch down.
Our first rover to visit Mars, Sojourner, traveled about 100 meters
(109 yards) over an entire month. The next two rovers to visit Mars, the
Mars Exploration Rovers, will land on
different parts of the planet. Both twins are also expected to have the
ability to rove approximately 1 kilometer (about six-tenths of a mile)
over the duration of their mission. Future rovers may travel over several
miles on the surface, allowing us to move from a safe landing site to
investigate surface features that are currently too difficult to access.
One approach to long-range mobility is inflatable rovers, which
would use very large, inflatable wheels to climb over rocks, instead of
traveling around them. This would allow inflatable rovers to travel
much farther and faster than current rovers. These rovers are only
inflated after arrival on the Mars surface. Prior to inflation, they are
lighter and, when deflated, can be packed in a much smaller volume
than a conventional rover of the same physical size. When deployed,
the inflatable rover is approximately 50 times its packed volume,
whereas a conventional rover is only two or three times bigger
than when packed.
Rovers will also increasingly rely on smart technologies to know
where they are, where they want to go, and which soil and rock
samples are worth studying and collecting.
Future rovers may also have adjustable shoulders that allow them
to drop low to the ground or elevate themselves to navigate through
a gully or crater. They will no doubt conduct more sophisticated
experiments, such as using ground-penetrating radar studies, to search
for evidence of water.
Future rovers will also travel locations where they can rendezvous
with other surface vehicles. Eventually, teams of robotic rovers might
even work together to build an infrastructure of robotic colonies, laying
the groundwork for human visits and human bases. Thus, if human
exploration is indeed possible on the Red Planet one day, it will be
robotic rovers that pave the way.
