NASA's Titan Aerover

Posted 22 Apr 2003 at 18:59 UTC by steve

A recent NASA TSP (PDF format, free reg. req.) describes a planetary rover concept in which the robot could travel through the air, across solid ground, over liquid oceans, ice, and even snow - all the environments one might encounter on Titan. The trick is giving the robot 2 meter spherical "wheels" filled with helium. The beach-ball wheels also allow the Titan Aerover to survive impacts at up to 50 MPH. For more photos, see the older Space.com article on Aerovers.

Airborne?, posted 22 Apr 2003 at 20:52 UTC by The Swirling Brain » (Master)

While airborne, what does it use for propulsion?

propulsion, posted 22 Apr 2003 at 22:00 UTC by steve » (Master)

From the diagrams, I got the impression it just drifted like a weather balloon. One of the pages seemed to suggest it would do some initial research from the air and then land by venting helium. But I think once it lands, it's stays grounded.

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