Cuberover for Lunar Science and Exploration

CubeRover is a robust miniaturized rover for built for lunar science and exploration. With its 2-kg mass, the robot would be the smallest (and likely the least costly) planetary rover ever deployed. CubeRover’s mobility, power and sensing enable 0.5 km traverses, or greater, even over challenging lunar terrain. The rover is based on a highly-integrated single board computer (rover-on-a-board) with reliable flight software, has integrated lander stowage and deployment capability, and uses WiFi for teleoperation and shared computation between rover and lander. The system incorporates a flexible thermal design and includes mass and power allocation for small science instruments, opening up a range of novel applications, landing sites, and mission concepts. Finally, the design offers an approach toward standardization and commercialization of CubeRover parts and designs.This proposal describes a detailed plan for the development, testing, and delivery of flight hardware by the end of the contract in 2020. Phase II work will mature the Phase I design and retire risks in pursuit of developing and delivering a flight-ready CubeRover. The proposed program consists of five technical objectives that address the key challenges of small size and mass, the harsh lunar environment, and broad applicability and flexibility for future missions and payloads. Work will mature subsystems to develop the final flight configuration to environmental specifications, build flight hardware, and perform qualification and acceptance testing. The key artifacts that will result include: a flight-qualified version of the single board computer, several prototype rovers for testing, and a flight-qualified CubeRover that can survive the trip to the Moon and perform its mission.