From: baalke@kelvin.jpl.nasa.gov (Ron Baalke)
Newsgroups: sci.space,comp.robotics
Subject: Re: Notes from Rover Expo
Date: 6 Sep 92 02:00:39 GMT
Reply-To: baalke@kelvin.jpl.nasa.gov
Organization: Jet Propulsion Laboratory
News-Software: VAX/VMS VNEWS 1.3-4

In article <9209050426.AA26888@cmr.ncsl.nist.gov>, roberts@CMR.NCSL.NIST.GOV (John Roberts) writes...
>  - Rocky IV (not present at show)
>    size: 60 cm long by 45 cm wide
>    mass: 7.2 kg
>    speed: ?
>    comments: Interest in use as Mars Environmental Survey Pathfinder.
>      Same basic design as Rocky III. Deploys microseismometers, scoops
>      soil samples, and chips rock surfaces. This is the model that uses
>      stereo cameras with alternate-field liquid crystal shutter goggles
>      for the operators. I spoke with the JPL people, and they said they're
>      using standard NTSC format, 30 frames per second. Onboard spectrometer.

Rocky IV was shown in a demo to the media on June 26 at JPL.  I've appended
some information taken from the associated press release.  Most of the
instruments carried by the Rover were developed by the Micro Electronics
lab at JPL.  During the demo, Rocky IV carried a seisometer and placed it
some distance from the spacecraft.  The seisometer is only 1.5 inches long,
weighs 160 grams and has a sensitivity of 1 nanoG.  The color camera on the
rover weighs only 97g and can withstand a 50G landing.  The spectrometer is
about 4 inches and weighs 350 grams.  The chipper is about 8 inches long
looks like a long narrow spear.  The chipper is aimed at a rock and when
turned on, it acts like a miniature jackhammer to chip away the rock's surface.
The spectrometer can then be used to analyze the rock's interior composition.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
     Rocky IV is slightly smaller in size than its predecessor, Rocky III.
Rocky IV is 24 inces (61 centimeters) long, 15 inches (38 cm) wide and 14
inches (36 cm) high.  The rover has six 5-inch-diameter (13 cm diameter)
wheels made of strips of steel foil and cleats to provide traction.  It
weighs about 16 pounds (7 kilograms), but eventually will have to be scaled
down to about 8 pounds (4 kg) for inclusion in the final MESUR Network mission
set.

     Sensor along the frame of the rover will help Rocky navigate.  If the
front set of wheels encounters a cliff or a steep drop-off, the rover can
brake in time to prevent a tumble.  Excessive tilt is also sensed and the
rover can stop to prevent a rollover.

     Rocky IV carries two "real" science instruments: a visible-light
spectrometer, with a range of 0.5 micron to 1.0 micron, and a color camera.
The spectrometer and camera will be boresighted (or "nested" within each
other) to view the same target.  They are enclosed by a lightweight box in
the center of the rover.

     Other "instruments" include a chipper that will be able to chip away
the thin coverings of material on rocks; a soft-sand scoop to take soil
samples; and a seismometer on board the lander that Rock IV will be instructed
to move to some designated place on the martian surface.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
     ___    _____     ___
    /_ /|  /____/ \  /_ /|     Ron Baalke         | baalke@kelvin.jpl.nasa.gov
    | | | |  __ \ /| | | |     Jet Propulsion Lab |
 ___| | | | |__) |/  | | |__   M/S 525-3684 Telos | Anything is impossible if
/___| | | |  ___/    | |/__ /| Pasadena, CA 91109 | you don't attempt it.
|_____|/  |_|/       |_____|/                     |