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Optimization Of Rover Wheel Geometries For Planetary Missions, Nikita Amberkar

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

Rovers have been launched into space for exploration of the Moon and Mars to collect samples of rock and soil. To continue the explorations, the rovers need to have reliable wheels to drive around. However, due to the soil being soft, the wheels on the rover start to lose traction and the wheels sink while driving to various locations. Previous work in this field has been done experimentally or with the use of simulations. Only a few references report the effect of uncertainties in grouser simulation on the traction efficiency. The objective of this work was to (a) Understand the …