The next Mars rover

If you like this, there's lots more images, taken for BoingBoing by photographer Joseph Linaschke, which Xeni posted in an awesome feature back in April.

Maggie Koerth-Baker is the science editor at BoingBoing.net. She writes a monthly column for The New York Times Magazine and is the author of Before the Lights Go Out, a book about electricity, infrastructure, and the future of energy. You can find Maggie on Twitter and Facebook.

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awjtawjt

It’s a wonderful thing. It also seems strange to me that there are so many exposed wires on it. Wonder why they aren’t shrouded better, or channeled inside the metal frame?
- Anonymous
  
  They’re not totally exposed, the cables have their own individual jackets around them and they’re probably pretty tough. An extra conduit on top would make the whole thing weigh more, and honestly, I’m not sure there’s much the cables could end up rubbing against that a conduit would protect against.
  
  Mars doesn’t have trees or really much in the way of protrusions for wires to rub on, after all. The routing and the geometry of the whole thing will keep the cables well away from the kind of rocks this rover’s meant to climb — as much as this looks like it’s meant for all terrain, that’s just overengineering because it really really sucks if it gets stuck. It’s not going quadding (hexing?) in the way you would back here on Earth.
- Chris Spurgeon
  
  Fear not, the NASA folks go crazy thinking about the best way to run cables from point A to point B on their spacecraft, and any cables exposed to the Martian environment are up to it. JPL in fact has dedicated cable experts.
  
  If you want to geek out on just some of NASA’s cable standards and procedures grab this (2.3 MB, 116 page) PDF titled “CRIMPING, INTERCONNECTING CABLES, HARNESSES, AND WIRING”.
  
  http://standards.nasa.gov/documents/viewdoc/3314921/3314921
  - Bubba
    
    I’d love to see the equivalent docs on the space poop-chute. Actually no I wouldn’t.
- Anonymous
  
  Actually, on closer inspection it looks like those “wires” are actually wire bundles wrapped in kapton tape, or some kind of flexible conduit. So, they are pretty well protected even beyond the wire jackets. That’s how wire bundles on a motorcycle or car are done, FYI.
Urthen

Does anyone know the scale on this? It looks 20 feet tall from the picture, but I’m guessing thats not correct, hah.
- niro5
  
  About the size of a mini cooper according to Wikipedia. Funny, because that was the first think I wondered when I first saw this picture.
- Berk
  
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars_Science_Laboratory says “The Curiosity rover will have a length of 10 feet (3.0 m) and weigh 1,984 pounds (900 kg) “
- Anonymous
  
  Urthen, here’s the rough size numbers: The rover is 8 feet (2.44 meters) from the outside of one wheel to the other. The Wheels measure 22 inches (0.56 meters) in diameter. The overal length is 9 feet (2.74 meters) from the front wheel to the back. The max height is 9 feet when the arm is vertical.
  
  Tire thread needs to have an area of dissimilar thread pattern so that the science on earth can look (count) at the actual tire rotation, and compare it to the rover’s data (to see things like tire slippage, etc.)
ackpht

And no problems with dirty solar panels and those chilly Martian winters ‘cuz she’s nukler.
Anonymous

Getting a rover the size and weight of a Mini Cooper down the Martian surface is a big problem in itself.

They’ve been working on the design of the landing rockets for several years.
lecti

And the kittens around the globe trembled in fear.
jfrancis

needs hot rod flames.
- robulus
  
  and laser canons.
Anonymous

WALL-M
dougrogers

sweet
Anonymous

Check out the tracks. They Spell JPL in Morse code
holtt

See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BudlaGh1A0o for a pretty sweet render of how it will land.
- Trent Hawkins
  
  -See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BudlaGh1A0o for a pretty sweet render of how it will land.
  
  where’s the sweet render of how it will crash land?
Anonymous

Anybody know whats going on with the half tread tires? unfinished or some kind of sensors built into the wheels, maybe?
- Anonymous
  
  They are morse code for JPL http://www.arrl.org/news/new-mars-rover-to-feature-morse-code
Halloween Jack

That robot killed my cat.
Zergonapal

I dunno why they just don’t make a walker that can go anywhere and won’t get bogged down in sand.
- mn_camera
  
  1) Energy consumption is less with wheels. Moving legs while they’re not in contact with the surface is energy not being used to move the rover, just parts of it.
  
  2) Balance is an issue with walkers, less so with articulated multi-wheeled vehicles.
  
  3) Climbing and descending slopes will be better suited to wheeled vehicles.
victorvodka

what kind of name is “curiosity”? has osama bin laden risen from the sea and taken charge of nasa?? back in the day, we knew how to name spaceships: “liberty, “freedom,” “spirit,” “patriot,” “americaistotallyawesome,” and “jesushumper.” it sounds like someone at nasa doesn’t love america very much!
- Donald Petersen
  
  what kind of name is “curiosity”?
  
  Yeah, “Curiosity” sounds a bit weak. I’d have earmarked more of my tax dollars had it been dubbed “Nosiness.” And “Spirit” should have been named “Bloodymindedness.”
  
  I’ll die happy if we can one day send the good ship “Galileo’s Revenge” to the Red Planet.