Hybrid Automaton Rover for Venus
Abstract
Venus is one of the most challenging in-situ environments to explore. Despite these challenges, incredible progress has been made in recent years on long lived platforms using high temperature electronics. However, these platforms have very limited capabilities. The concept presented here takes those long lived, high temperature electronics, and provides them with a method for long duration sustained mobility on Venus. This opens up a number of opportunities for a Venus in-situ explorer, with one of the most compelling being obtaining samples from multiple geologic units across the surface of Venus. The Hybrid Automaton Rover-Venus (HAR-V) is a mission concept, which enables long duration in-situ mobility on the surface of Venus. An automaton is a mechanical device capable of performing a series of complex actions to achieve a specific result or a mechanical robot. Built of stainless steel and titanium, the automaton rover would reduce the requirements on electronics and requires minimal human interaction by focusing on a basic, robust capabilities. HAR-V would not be reliant on image processing and onboard navigation current Mars rovers use, as this cannot be done with available high-temperature electronics. Instead, the rover would physically sense the environment around it and use those inputs to navigate. Mobility requires a significant amount of power, so HAR-V would enable exploration of the Venus surface by directly collecting mechanical wind energy and transferring it to the mobility system. Keeping the energy in a mechanical state conserves ninety percent of the mechanical energy when compared to using a generator and electric motor. The Venus wind provides a low speed, high torque input, which is directly beneficial for mobility, which requires low speed, high torque. While the mobility system is mostly mechanical, the instruments, data collection, and data transmission would be done with basic silcon carbide and gallium nitride high temperature electronics. Humans could also provide basic path directions through a transceiver.
- Publication:
-
43rd COSPAR Scientific Assembly. Held 28 January - 4 February
- Pub Date:
- January 2021
- Bibcode:
- 2021cosp...43E.193S