page_title: Mechanical arm
section_title: Rover arms
hierarchical_section_title: Mechanical arm / Types / Rover arms
caption_attribution_description: English: Two spacecraft engineers stand with a group of vehicles providing a comparison of three generations of Mars rovers developed at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. The setting is JPL's Mars Yard testing area. Front and center is the flight spare for the first Mars rover, Sojourner, which landed on Mars in 1997 as part of the Mars Pathfinder Project. On the left is a Mars Exploration Rover Project test rover that is a working sibling to Spirit and Opportunity, which landed on Mars in 2004. On the right is a Mars Science Laboratory test rover the size of that project's Mars rover, Curiosity, which landed on Mars in 2012. Sojourner and its flight spare, named Marie Curie, are 2 feet (65 centimeters) long. The Mars Exploration Rover Project's rover, including the "Surface System Test Bed" rover in this photo, are 5.2 feet (1.6 meters) long. The Mars Science Laboratory Project's Curiosity rover and "Vehicle System Test Bed" rover, on the right, are 10 feet (3 meters) long. The engineers are JPL's Matt Robinson, left, and Wesley Kuykendall. The California Institute of Technology, in Pasadena, operates JPL for NASA. Русский: Два инженера космических аппаратов стоят вместе с группой автоматических станций для сравнительного масштаба трёх поколений марсоходов, разработанных в Лаборатории реактивного движения НАСА (Пасаден, штат Калифорния). Кадр сделан на полигоне «Ярд Марса» ЛРД. На переднем плане слева первый макет марсохода «Соджорнер», близнец которого в рамках проекта «Mars Pathfinder» совершившего посадку на Марсе в 1997 году. Слева находится испытательный макет «Mars Exploration Rover»  —  «братьев» марсоходов «Спирит» и «Оппортьюнити», которые которые совершили посадку на Марс в 2004 году. Справа — испытательный макет «Mars Science Laboratory», который является аналогом Марсианской Научной Лаборатории «Кьюриосити» (Curiosity), совершившей посадку на Марс в 2012 году. «Соджорнер» и аналоги, названные по имени Мари Кюри длиной 65 см. Марсоходы проекта «Mars Exploration Rover», в том числе платформа проверки [взаимодействия с] поверхностью «Surface System Test Bed», запечатлённая на этой фотографии, длиной 1,6 метра. Марсианская Научная Лаборатория проекта «Кьюриосити» и её платформа проверки систем аппарата «Vehicle System Test Bed» достигает в длину 3-х метров. Инженеры ЛРД: слева — Мэтт Робинсон (Matt Robinson) и Висли Куйкендэлл (Wesley Kuykendall) — справа. Фотография сделана в находящемся под управлением Лаборатории Реактивного Движения Калифорнийском Технологическом Институте, расположенном в Пасадене. Специально для НАСА.
context_page_description: A mechanical arm is a machine that mimics the action of a human arm. Mechanical arms are composed of multiple beams connected by hinges powered by actuators. One end of the arm is attached to a firm base while the other has a tool. They can be controlled by humans either directly or over a distance. A computer-controlled mechanical arm is called a robotic arm. However, a robotic arm is just one of many types of different mechanical arms.
  Mechanical arms can be as simple as tweezers or as complex as prosthetic arms. In other words, if a mechanism can grab an object, hold an object, and transfer an object just like a human arm, it can be classified as a mechanical arm.
  Recent advancements have been brought about to lead future improvements in the medical field with prosthetics and with the mechanical arm in general. When mechanical engineers build complex mechanical arms, the goal is for the arm to perform a task that ordinary human arms can not complete.
context_section_description: In space, NASA used a mechanical arm for new planetary discoveries. One of these discoveries came from sending a rover to another planet and collecting samples from this planet. With a rover, NASA can just keep the rover on its designated planet and explore all they want. Mechanical arms are also attached to the ships that are acting as satellite stations in Earth's atmosphere because they help grab debris that might cause damage to other satellites. Not only that, but they also keep astronauts safe when they have to go make a repair to the ship or satellite. Now, space isn't where all the rover's with mechanical arms are. Even the SWAT team and other special forces use these rovers to go into a building or unsafe area to defuse a bomb, plant a bomb or repair vehicles.
caption: Three generations of Mars rovers
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