Main problems that space vehicle need to deal with:
- Temperature
- Power source
- Uneven surface
- Air condition
- weight
- radiation
Small space vehicle vs. Larger space vehicle
Small space vehicle
- Two driver only
- Power source: radioisotope thermoelectric generator
- Work Package interface
- lightweight
Larger space vehicle
- 10 passengers +2 driver
- Power source: solar energy
- Robotic arm
Common device that required:
- Ice- shielded / Fusilsble Heat sink : Extreme temperatures of up to +120 degrees Celsius facing the sun but -180 degrees Celsius on the side facing away from the sun. So a lot of cooling has to be considered when constructing the rover.
- Pivoting wheel+rocker bogie suspension: enables crab-style driving for docking
- Docking hatch: allows pressurized crew transfer from pressured rover to habit.
- life support system.
- Auto drive.
- antenna
Metals and weight:
A rover needs to be built in space aluminium and magnesium for maximum resistance to the radiation on the moon.The more weight a rover has, the higher the costs are.
Metals in the Mars Rover Curiosity
Metal
Use
Titanium tubingForm Curiosity’s legs
Titanium springsAdd cushioning within Curiosity’s wheels
Titanium bridlePart of the parachute deployment mechanism used during the rover’s landing sequence
AluminumCuriosity’s wheels
Aluminum mortarPart of the parachute deployment mechanism. Hand forged from an aluminum billet
Aluminum honeycombFormed the core of Atlas V, Curiosity’s launch vessel
BronzeDU® metal-polymer bearings are critical components in the rover’s drill
CopperCuriosity will collect samples in cells, which are sealed in a pyrolysis oven by pressing the cell’s copper collar into a knife-edge seal with a force of up to 250lb. The sample is then heated to 1100°C for analysis.
LeadCuriosity will be powered, in part, by a Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator that will use PbTe/TAGS thermocouples produced by Teledyne Energy Systems.
Stainless SteelStainless steel gas generators provided the high-pressure gas used to propel Curiosity’s parachute from the spacecraft.
RheniumA RD AMROSS RD-180 booster engine powered the propulsion system used to launch Atlas V. Rhenium is alloyed in the jet turbine.
Tantalum630 tantalum multi-anode capacitors are responsible for powering the ChemCam laser module onboard Curiosity
TungstenThe back shell of Curiosity’s atmospheric entry vehicle released two sets of detachable tungsten weights in order to alter the spacecraft’s center of mass as it approached Mars. Individual ballasts weighed 165 pounds (75kgs) or 55 pounds (25kgs).
GalliumPhotovoltaic cells layered with minor and semi-conductor metals will provide Curiosity with power during the day.
Indium
Germanium
SiliconSilicon chips etched with more than 1.24 million names are aboard Curiosity.
CopperA penny minted in 1909 (when they were still mostly copper) is onboard to help scientists calibrate the cameras currently sending images back to Earth.