Can you design a rover that can survive on the moon?
Rover on the Moon (Vitaly Kusaylo, iStockphoto)
Rover on the Moon (Vitaly Kusaylo, iStockphoto)
How does this align with my curriculum?
Design a lunar rover that can survive in the moon’s extreme environment.
Materials:
Feel free to use any materials that you can think of. Some suggested items could include:
- Writing utensils
- Paper
- Scissors
- Glue and/or tape
- Recycled materials (bottles, caps, cardboard, cans, etc.)
- Something to allow your rover to roll
- Elastic bands and/or string
- Aluminum foil
- Popsicle sticks
What to do!
Many different space agencies are currently working together to launch a mission to the Moon. You have been tasked with designing a rover that can withstand the harsh conditions on the Moon to help during the mission.
Using any materials that you can think of, how would you design such a rover? Try to include solutions for as many challenges as you can think of.
- Consider all the challenges that your rover might face on the moon. (You might want to review Designing Rovers for the Moon’s Extreme Environment)
- Create a design to face all of these challenges.
- Build your designed rover, if you want to.
- Test your rover and see if there’s anything that you can improve.
- Share your design and your results with others!
As with many human-made devices and structures, there are often many different factors to consider when designing something new. Neglecting certain factors can often lead to catastrophic failure of the design. The Tacoma Narrows Bridge is a famous example of what can happen when bridge designers/engineers failed to consider the effect of strong winds in their bridge design.
In space, the stakes are even higher. A simple miscalculation can turn into a big problem that can cost the astronauts their lives! That’s why anything that goes into space must first go through extensive testing and many iterations of re-designs. You don’t often get something perfectly right on your first try. It’s always important to test out what you think might work, take what you learned from it, and take steps to improve it.
Canadians are playing a big role in the ongoing/upcoming Artemis missions. For the first time in history, a Canadian rover will explore the Moon! Canadensys, a Canadian company, has been selected to build the Canadian lunar rover. A lot of work has gone into the design so that it can withstand the extremely harsh conditions on the Moon, with special care given to the wheels. Normal tires like we use on Earth can’t be used without air pressure. Scientists therefore had to design special wheels that don’t rely on air, yet don’t get clogged by the loose soil and have very good traction.
Lunar rover in its testing environment (Source: Canadensys Aerospace Corporation (Canadensys). Used with permission.
Image - Text Version
Shown is a colour photograph of the Canadensys lunar rover in its testing environment. It is turned at about 45 degrees.
The body of the micro rover resembles a turtle with its domed octagonal shape. The body of the rover is mostly white with grey hexagonal shaped solar panels attached on a slant to its sides. A small antenna can be seen from the top rear portion of the rover. A small camera is mounted to a rod and positioned at the top centre of the rover. Small wheels are attached to the bottom of the rover, the open metal design resembles cheese graters. Other smaller instruments are mounted to the front of the rover.
The lunar rover has left wheel tracks in the grey simulated moon soil. There are two rocks in the upper right corner of the image. In the background, darkness spreads beyond the rover.
Think beyond what you can make at home or in your classroom. If you had access to any materials in the world, how would that change your design? What effects would each of these new changes have on the overall impact of your rover?
If you liked this activity, you might be interested in our Lunar Rover Research Challenge!
What’s happening?
As with many human-made devices and structures, there are often many different factors to consider when designing something new. Neglecting certain factors can often lead to catastrophic failure of the design. The Tacoma Narrows Bridge is a famous example of what can happen when bridge designers/engineers failed to consider the effect of strong winds in their bridge design.
In space, the stakes are even higher. A simple miscalculation can turn into a big problem that can cost the astronauts their lives! That’s why anything that goes into space must first go through extensive testing and many iterations of re-designs. You don’t often get something perfectly right on your first try. It’s always important to test out what you think might work, take what you learned from it, and take steps to improve it.
Why does it matter?
Canadians are playing a big role in the ongoing/upcoming Artemis missions. For the first time in history, a Canadian rover will explore the Moon! Canadensys, a Canadian company, has been selected to build the Canadian lunar rover. A lot of work has gone into the design so that it can withstand the extremely harsh conditions on the Moon, with special care given to the wheels. Normal tires like we use on Earth can’t be used without air pressure. Scientists therefore had to design special wheels that don’t rely on air, yet don’t get clogged by the loose soil and have very good traction.
Lunar rover in its testing environment (Source: Canadensys Aerospace Corporation (Canadensys). Used with permission.
Image - Text Version
Shown is a colour photograph of the Canadensys lunar rover in its testing environment. It is turned at about 45 degrees.
The body of the micro rover resembles a turtle with its domed octagonal shape. The body of the rover is mostly white with grey hexagonal shaped solar panels attached on a slant to its sides. A small antenna can be seen from the top rear portion of the rover. A small camera is mounted to a rod and positioned at the top centre of the rover. Small wheels are attached to the bottom of the rover, the open metal design resembles cheese graters. Other smaller instruments are mounted to the front of the rover.
The lunar rover has left wheel tracks in the grey simulated moon soil. There are two rocks in the upper right corner of the image. In the background, darkness spreads beyond the rover.
Investigate further!
Think beyond what you can make at home or in your classroom. If you had access to any materials in the world, how would that change your design? What effects would each of these new changes have on the overall impact of your rover?
If you liked this activity, you might be interested in our Lunar Rover Research Challenge!