HOPPING may be the best way for robotic probes to explore the surface of
comets and asteroids. Japanese engineers have built a cylindrical prototype that
they say could take 9-metre hops in a low-gravity environment. They propose
adding a more advanced version of the probe to MUSES-C, a Japanese mission to
return an asteroid sample to Earth in June 2006.
Wheeled robots work well on moons and planets, but the very low gravity of
asteroids and comets poses problems. The traction needed for horizontal motion
comes from the vehicle’s weight pressing down on the surface, but on an asteroid
only…
