NASA’s efforts to send spacecraft to land on other bodies in our Solar System have been hindered by a common misconception about the physics at play. A new study suggests that space agencies, including NASA, have misunderstood how gravity affects the terrain and soil of other planets.
When designing missions to land on the Moon or Mars, researchers tend to look for similar environments here on Earth for testing. However, this approach may lead to “overoptimistic” results, according to a team of scientists. They found that reducing the mass of experimental rovers to simulate lower gravity may not provide an accurate assessment of their performance.
The team used physics-based simulation tools to analyze rover mobility on granular soil and discovered significant discrepancies between simulated tests and real-world results. The study’s authors recommend relying heavily on physics-based terramechanics models when designing future rovers, rather than solely relying on experimental testing.
Single-wheel tests may provide more reliable results than full rover tests, while reducing the mass of the rover in full tests may be unnecessary, according to the team. This new understanding has exciting implications for NASA and planetary exploration, as it could solve problems that other tools cannot.
Source: https://www.iflscience.com/nasa-has-made-a-sizable-error-in-lunar-and-martian-physics-study-suggests-80177