NASA Moon Rover practices tricky drive off Lunar Lander by Frank Tavares for ARC News Moffett Field CA (SPX) Jun 01, 2022
Once it arrives at the Moon's South Pole, NASA's Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER) will need to perform one of the trickiest parts of its 100-day mission: driving off the Astrobotic Griffin lunar lander and onto the Moon's surface. After another successful round of testing this "egress" activity, VIPER is one step closer to being ready for launch. VIPER has already completed several egress exercises, but recent tests at NASA's Glenn Research Center in Cleveland were the most realistic yet - using the latest prototype lander and a robotic prototype of the Moon rover that will explore and map the lunar surface in search of resources that could sustain astronauts on future Artemis missions. Since the goal of this test is to ensure VIPER's able to handle the roll-out onto the lunar surface, engineers designed this prototype to be the most realistic model of its mobility systems while stripping down the rover's heavier components. Because there's less gravity on the Moon than on Earth, the rover needs to be lighter to more accurately simulate the conditions found on the lunar surface. Using this unique version of VIPER, the team can verify every aspect of the system is working as intended, and that when the real VIPER egresses, everything will go smoothly. With several mission procedures still being fine-tuned, this won't be the last time the VIPER team practices driving rover prototypes down the lander's ramps. Future tests will take place in the Regolith Testbed at NASA's Ames Research Center in California's Silicon Valley, a facility capable of realistically reproducing the lighting and dusty terrain of the Moon's environment. While this test confirmed rover and lander systems are functionally ready to go, future tests will give the rover operations team an opportunity to practice lander egress in conditions as close as possible to what it will be like when they roll out VIPER and leave its first wheel marks on the Moon's surface through NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services initiative.
President Biden: NASA to Welcome Japanese Astronaut Aboard Gateway Tokyo, Japan (SPX) May 23, 2022 President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida met in Tokyo Monday where they announced progress on collaboration for human and robotic lunar missions. They confirmed their commitment to include a Japanese astronaut aboard the lunar Gateway outpost and their shared ambition to see a future Japanese astronaut land on the Moon as part of NASA's Artemis program. "In recent years, the alliance between Japan and the United States has grown stronger, deeper, and more capable as we work to ... read more
|
|
The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us. |