Marsokhod, Some Russian work on Mars rovers Options

[Guest_DonPMitchell_*]

You may have seen these before, but here are a few Marsokhod rover designed developed and tested by TransMASH. First is a concept developed for a Mars-94 mission. Note the radioisotope thermopile generator on the back.

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They also experimented with walking rovers, and with hybrid concepts that included wheels on articulated axles:

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In 1999, TransMASH worked with NASA on a Mars rover, a blend of Marsokhod and some American concepts clearly. Looks similar to the ExoMars rover, I think.

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[Guest_BruceMoomaw_*]

Actually, one of the selling points for Marsokhod was always that you could land it using airbags, because its design enabled it to be curled up like a millipede. (That same active body flexibility, using motorized joints between its body sections, would have been used to give it much greater ability to clamber over obstacles.)

I've always regretted that the Russians ran out of cash before they could do anything with this design -- if and when they get back into the space exploration biz, I still think that the Marsokhod design may end up being useful.