Sample Fetch Rover: Enabling Technologies for Planetary Mobility

Abstract

The sample fetch rover (SFR) is a novel surface vehicle studied for Mars sample return (MSR). The rover is designed as a multi-mission transportation system with no scientific payloads on board and the only objective of acquiring sample tubes previously deposited on the surface and delivering them to a lander in a strict timeframe. Its mission imposes demanding requirements, such as traverse distance, timeline, mass, volume, and energy, which necessitate the development of new technologies or the augmentation of existing ones. Following the decision not to implement SFR in the MSR campaign, these technologies are becoming attractive for future rover missions to Mars and to the Moon. This paper summarizes the development of these technologies and their applicability to future use cases. The SFR mission profile and design drivers are described herein, along with the system architecture established in response to them. What follows is an overview of the key technologies studied for SFR, focusing on the most critical or innovative ones, such as locomotion, navigation, and sample tube acquisition. The summary includes the other significant aspects of the design: structure, thermal control, mechanisms, control electronics, power, avionics, and communications. For each of these, the main technological advancements and their relevance to forthcoming rover missions are discussed.