Tumbleweed Rovers on Mars

How to keep a Mars tumbleweed rover moving on rocky terrain

“New research from North Carolina State University shows that a wind-driven “tumbleweed” Mars rover would be capable of moving across rocky Martian terrain – findings that could also help the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) design the best possible vehicle. “There is quite a bit of interest within NASA to pursue the tumbleweed rover design, but one of the questions regarding the concept is how it might perform on the rocky surface of Mars,” says Dr. Andre Mazzoleni, an associate professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering (MAE) at NC State and co-author of a paper describing the research. “We set out to address that question.”