Prediction and evaluation of the mobility performance for a lunar exploration rover based on the terramechanics

To achieve a successful mission, the mobility performance of a lunar exploration rover should be evaluated and fully understood with respect to the lunar terrain properties. In this paper, we described two experimental methods to identify the accurate terrain parameters in a lunar simulant. From the experimental data, the classic Wong and Levenberg-Marquardt methods were utilized to derive the terrain properties associated with normal and shear stresses. Also, we assembled a wheel test bed of the rover in order to evaluate the mobility performance according to slip ratio and wheel width. The factors that affect the driving performance of rover wheels were examined based on terramechanics. Using the test bed, the sinkage, drawbar pull, and tractive coefficient were measured with various slip ratio and wheel width. These experimental results were compared to the simulation results based on the wheel-terrain interaction model.