DESIGN AND ANALYSIS OF ROVER WHEEL TESTBED

Abstract

Wheel performance has been one of the limiting factors in interplanetary rover mis-

sions. Because the rigors of space restrict use of conventional tire materials, rover

wheels suffer from lack of traction, high risk of snagging, and little or no compliance,

which limits the rover's ability to explore and traverse discontinuous terrain. What

is worse is that these limitations go unresolved by the current lack of testing. The

concept that wheel utilization and design are enhanced by testing is not new. The

Apollo program enjoyed substantial testing of the Lunar Rover Vehicle's wheel but

at a tremendous cost in time and money, which is probably the reason for its current

low priority. Single wheel testing is a solution to this problem because it can cheaply

provide data for a full rover assembly's performance. This paper details these prob-

lems and provides solutions to several road blocks of using single wheel testing as

a substitute for full rover testing. The Suspension and Wheel Experimentation and

Evaluation Testbed (S.W.E.E.T), which is specifically designed to test single wheels

in situations previously neglected, will enable engineers to iteratively improve wheel

design and to develop more accurate and encompassing mission contingency strategies

without the cost and time of full rover testing.