The rover could then drop from the air to the ground to rumble across even its rockiest terrain. A working prototype of the rover relies on its three mammoth inflatable wheels to tackle land, sea and sky. A skeletal frame connects the wheels, supporting a steering mechanism, battery and camera. On land, the rover can tackle rocks one-third the size of its wheels, making quick work of terrain that would halt either of the twin roving probes going to Mars in 2003 dead in its tracks. On water, treads glued to the rear wheels allow the aerover to paddle its way around, albeit somewhat more slowly.
Rocky terrain is no obstacle to the balloon-wheeled rover.
The trick, Jones said, is getting the rover to fly, although Titan itself is the least of his worries. On Titan, gravity is one-seventh that of Earth, but its atmosphere is four times as dense. Flap your arms hard enough on Titan, and you would have a fair shot at taking flight. The easiest scenario would be to fill the rover s wheels with buoyant helium. As it circled the globe, perhaps once every two weeks, the rover could pick promising spots where to land at its leisure.