Selection of the vibration-driven Venus rover design parameters

Abstract

Analysis of the dynamics of the vibration-driven planetary rover is considered. Numerical simulation using ADAMS MBD software shown that it is fundamentally possible to create a Venus rover with internal moving mass that will be able to move along the surface with the required average speed 0.16 m/s for a certain time. When operating on the surface of Venus for one and a half hours, a 300-kg planetary cruiser can travel about 500 meters. In the scheme under consideration, it is possible to vary part of the design parameters within wide limits, which facilitates the design study of the rover. It turns out that it is more efficient to use an actuator, the mass of which is more than half the mass of the entire rover. It should be noted that the possible practical application of an automatic robot-rover with a hermetic spherical body and without external moving parts is not limited to studies on the surface of Venus. Such a device may be used in conditions of high external temperature and pressure, as well as in a chemically aggressive environment.