Experimental Study on the Durability of China’s Mars Rover’s Mobility System

Abstract

The mobility system is an important part of the Mars rover and is one of the key subsystems for the Mars exploration mission. In this paper, the durability performance of China’s Mars rover was tested and analyzed on the simulant Mars terrain. The total traveling distance of the rover for the durability test was 5,040 m, the test results showed that the average power consumption was 23.22 W, and the maximum power consumption was 75.9 W. The average power consumption of the rover increased linearly with the increase of the rover’s velocity. Compared with the power consumption at 50 m/h, the power consumption at 100 and 200 m/h increased by 42.71% and 138.54%, respectively. The type of Mars terrain also has a great influence on the power consumption of the rover, the rover has the greatest resistance and the highest power consumption when driving on Terrain type D (Mars soil simulant + rocks), and wheel abrasion mainly occurred in this type of terrain. Finally, there were many scratches on the surface of the wheels, and a small amount of Mars soil simulant was deposited in the drum. However, the mobility performance of the rover did not decrease after traversing 5.04 km. The mobility system and the suspension are in good condition, and the motor and control system works well.