Daniel Xiao
Pronouns: he/him
Research Mentor(s): Cheng Li
Research Mentor School/College/Department: Climate and Space Sciences and Engineering / Engineering
Program:
Authors: Daniel Xiao, David Zhukovsky, Yun Zhang, Cheng Li
Session: Session 4: 1:40 pm – 2:30 pm
Poster: 97
Abstract
Despite decades of space exploration, the JAXA 2027 mission to Phobos (one of Mars’ moons) will be one of the first instances of a wheeled rover in such a low-gravity environment (Michel et al., 2022). To find out more about soil-wheel interactions in a miligravity environment like the one on Phobos, it is vital to simulate these interactions on Earth in advance. The motivation for this is to ensure that the wheeled rover mission to Phobos will be successful. We are seeking to expand existing knowledge on how wheels interact with fine soil in very low gravity environments. Specifically, we are working with groups of wheels attached to a rigid body (the rover). We are using discrete element modeling (DEM) to simulate these interactions computationally, and then we are observing them visually through Paraview, a visualization tool. Our data will be analyzed with respect to various physical characteristics such as friction, slippage, and sinking. We will use various CAD (Computer-Aided Design) designs to actually model and replicate the wheels themselves. We hope to confirm that a wheeled rover will be able to move successfully on Phobos, however, any conclusions drawn from our investigation would be useful. Our conclusion will support the success of a wheeled rover on Phobos. If the results show that a wheeled rover may encounter challenges in navigating Phobos under specific terrain conditions, this could guide the selection of the landing site and inform the overall strategy.
