this post was submitted on 24 Sep 2024
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NASA's Curiosity Mars Rover

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A lemmy community for scientific discussion of the Curiosity Rover and Mars Science Laboratory.

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4312 - Wheel check (lemmy.world)
submitted 2 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
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It's had a tough journey, but it's still trucking

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[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 months ago (2 children)

Other than weight, why isn’t the wheel solid? Seems like a safer bet for a rover, and you don’t have passenger comfort to take into account.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 2 months ago

I have a hard time imagining it's for any reason other than weight.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 2 months ago

why isn’t the wheel solid?

  • Weight is an issue
  • The wheels were the rover shock absorbers during landing (by the sky-crane back in 2012)
  • Yes, no passenger comfort, but there is an amount of sensitive electronics and instruments to protect.