SALR
SALR
The Spring Actuated Lunar Robot’s (SALR) objective is to further our understanding of the moon’s surface with a novel way of traveling by jumping. The rugged terrain poses challenges to rovers and a lack of an atmosphere on the Moon means flight by generating lift is not viable. The jumping spring mechanism created by the Hawkes Lab would allow a robot to reach heights of 30 meters, becoming even greater with the Moon’s low gravity. Jumping on the moon also allows for the potential of recovering energy when landing and dampening the impact. SALR intends to make this mechanism more robust by adding several features and improve the project's mission readiness level for a future mission. SALR will add steering legs to direct the angle and direction of a jump, a camera to provide visual data of the Moon’s surface, demonstrate the capabilities of conserving energy when landing, and demonstrate the viability of a reaction wheel system for attitude control.