Driving robots on Mars

Kennedy Center’s SWAMP works, is one of NASA’s unique development environments, always innovating to create new tools and technologies for deep space Exploration.

Looking ahead toward human missions to Mars, NASA is aiming to incorporate robots for critical Mars missions in the future. The RASSOR robot currently being tested, is an advanced 10 axes robot used to collect Regolith (surface dust and dirt), and then transfer it to a processing facility. This Mars dirt can be processed for extracting water.

Elmo Motion Control miniature servo drives were selected to power all 10 axes of the robot. High precision position control for the arm joints, and speed control for drum buckets the were just some of the reason to move with Elmo. NASA was also looking to reduce the robot’s size and weight to improve mobility, the ability and handle high shocks in case robot flips or go over rocks, and for efficient overall operation needed to optimize batter operation.