1. Enabling All-Access Mobility
for Planetary Exploration Vehicles
via Transformative Reconfiguration
Scott Ferguson
Andre Mazzoleni
3 graduate students
19 undergraduate students
Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
North Carolina State University
We thank NIAC for their support of this work

2. Challenges of chaotic terrain

3. Is mobility enough?
How can we encourage concepts that are even more different?
What potential advantages / mission types could we then do?

4. Four drivers of reconfigurability
Expand / Collapse
Fuse / Divide
Expose / Cover
Reorientation
Multi-ability

5. The need to constrain reconfigurability

6. Project objective
Multiple scientists wanting to:
•
Sense something
•
Measure something
•
Explore something
Engineers want something:
•
Low risk
•
Easily analyzable
•
Realizable

7. Project objective
What makes for an effective configuration??

8. Leveraging the university infrastructure
3 Graduate students
(Mars exploration class)
19 Undergraduate students
(Capstone design)
Tradespace exploration
Advanced simulation
Identify mission, science, and requirements
Develop conceptual solutions
Conduct analysis
Initial prototyping

9. What baselines have been created so far?

10. Development of the tumbleweed rover

11. Inspiration for the TRRex

12. Modeling / analysis of rolling motion
l
γ1
m
m
m
m
I
mg
l
γ2
γ4
γ3
θ
Leg 1
Leg 4
Leg 2
Leg 3
The previous picture only gives us rolling in the presence of a gradient
12341234(coscoscoscos)cos(sinsinsinsin)sinmglmglCII θγγγγθγγγγθθ=−++−++−−−
Dynamic modeling of a single DOF system
(as a lumped parameter system)

13. Prototype and testing

14. Air-based concepts

15. Melas Chasma
Terrain:
oSand dunes leading up to, surrounding, and inside the chasm
oRocky cliff faces 40°+ incline; landslide material 30-45° incline
oDescent of 11km
oRocky floor and roaming sand dunes
The mission:
Find the most efficient way to land on the surrounding planes, traverse the dunes to reach the top of the chasm, and then descend to the floor while still being mobile once on the floor

16. Initial concept

17. Designing the glider
Material: Carbon Fiber Reinforces Polymer (CFRP)
Stall Speed: 100 m/s
Rocket Propellant (2 O-Motors)
Mass: 900 kg at Launch, 530 kg at Landing

18. Describing the reconfigurations

19. Development of an air cannon

20. Requirements definition and analysis

21. Where do we go from here?
•
Advanced simulations
–
Webots simulation software

22. Where do we go from here?
•
Tradespace exploration

23. Enabling All-Access Mobility
for Planetary Exploration Vehicles
via Transformative Reconfiguration
Scott Ferguson
Andre Mazzoleni
3 graduate students
19 undergraduate students
Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
North Carolina State University
We thank NIAC for their support of this work