According to scientists familiar with related projects, NASA (Nasa) latest lunar rover seems to borrow the design of China's Mars rover, which may be a turning point in China's space competition.
" Zhurong " is the Mars rover of the Tianwen-1 mission. It has been roaming on Mars for more than a year. Its feature is that it has an active suspension system , which can simulate the movement of the ruler, and it can pull the wheel out when the wheel is trapped in rock or sand. This unprecedented design greatly improves the mobility of the rover and its chances of survival in rough terrain.
But the "imitator" of "Zhurong" soon appeared. According to NASA's website, the "VIPER" under development by NASA's Ames Research Center will also crawl like a ruler or move the wheels in a special, coordinated manner similar to a caterpillar, helping the detector get rid of things stuck on it.
In July this year, a VIPER prototype with this capability completed ground testing at NASA's Cleveland Glen Research Center. As part of Nasa Artemis's program, the rover is expected to be deployed to the Moon's South Pole in 2024 to find water.
"This is almost a replica of Chinese design," said a Chinese space scientist. Although "VIPER" uses four wheels, its suspension system works the same as the six wheels of "Zhurong", and such a brave design has never appeared in any previous space missions."
In recent years, China's space program has made several breakthroughs, including quantum satellites and the Chang'e-4 spacecraft landing on the back of the moon. These projects are partly driven by new technologies not yet developed or used by the United States.
A senior researcher at the Zhurong rover project said, "NASA is a great institution with a lot of good ideas and innovations, but budget cuts and other issues such as conservatism have hindered the adoption of new technologies." "He added that adapting the design of "Zhurong" to VIPER may just be the beginning, and China is developing many exciting new technologies.
"Yutu II" lunar rover
The United States has launched five probes to Mars that use a passive suspension system called "rodarm bogies". The arms of the rocker bogies passively respond to collisions on the ground, and when they are trapped, the probe must take advantage of the strength of its motors. The big force, pulling the wheel out of the trap by shaking back and forth.
1997, the first Mars rover "Sojna" was trapped on a rock, and it took the mission team several days to rescue it. In addition, almost all NASA's rover has encountered similar troubles on Mars. For example, the "Courage" rover was trapped in soft sand for months and eventually lost contact with the earth in 2010.
Scientists around the world are trying to Space probe designs active suspension systems. These proposals usually require many additional components, which will increase the complexity, cost and risk of rover missions.
Our country's research team has taken inspiration from the slut. The slut is a moth caterpillar commonly found in forests and gardens. It moves by fixing the front legs on a surface, lifting the middle part of the body, and then dragging the hind legs forward. This can not only help the slut bypass the obstacles on leaves or branches, but also allow it to stretch into various shapes. To disguise yourself from predators.
Through computer simulations and experiments, Chinese researchers found that just by adding a component to the passive suspension system, it was possible to build a detector that could mimic the complex motion of the ruler, which they shared at academic conferences with space researchers from other countries.
Researchers estimate that the suspension system inspired by ruler would have a slight impact on the detector’s maximum speed, but it could increase traction by more than 80% to get it out of the sand pit.The performance of "Zhurong" on Mars proves the effectiveness of their design.
China's first Mars mission, Tianwen-1, uses other new technologies such as smart material and artificial intelligence , and sends "Zhurong" to Mars without any first-hand data for planning.
In September this year, at a global gathering of space scientists and engineers held in Paris, the "Tianwen-1" team won the World Space Award from the International Astronautics Federation , which is intended to recognize outstanding contributions to space exploration.
According to NASA, the VIPER mission plays an important role in the Artemis program because it can draw the first strategic resource map in a permanently shadowed lunar crater, including water in the crater. According to China's aerospace department, the device can significantly increase the chances of finding ice and other resources in lunar craters.
Researchers from the "Zhurong" team said: "We don't mind that colleagues from other countries use our ideas at all. Competition can be healthy, but we should compete as teammates rather than enemies."
