Venus is a hell outside the Earth. The average temperature mark on the surface reaches 460 ° C, and the atmospheric pressure is 92 times higher than the earth one. The second planet from the Sun easily cracks down on earth mechanisms sent to its surface. But, perhaps, scientists managed to understand how to create a durable and stable rover, able to withstand the planet.
Only a small number of vehicles managed to make a soft landing on Venus, and the record for the duration of 127 minutes belongs to the Soviet mission Venera-13. Therefore, Venus is perceived as one of the most hostile worlds in the solar system.
How to overcome these obstacles to successfully explore the planet? Experts believe that the automatic technology will work here. Such a rover can work for weeks, months and even eternity.
What is automaton technology? In fact, it is a mechanical machine with automatic control, capable of performing a specific task or set of instructions. One of the early examples of the machine was the Antikythera mechanism. This is an ancient Greek analog computer used to predict astronomical locations.
Antikythera Mechanism
A variation of the basic mechanical design of automata can be implemented in planetary rovers. This brings us to the new concept of the AREE - an automatic rover for an extreme environment. This is an example of a Venus rover in which all electronics are replaced with mechanical parts. The developers of this concept are sure that such a system will be able to exist on the planet for long months, continuing to collect and send data to Earth. AREE mechanical parts will be based on pneumatics. They will be able to accumulate and release energy through the components under pressure, using atmospheric gas and turbines moving under the influence of the wind. That is, instead of protecting the rover from the high pressure of Venus, NASA engineers will develop a system that will use this medium.
A new alternative architecture idea for the rover
It is believed that such a rover may need the support of other devices built into the alternative architecture. For example, the construction of "bindweed", which uses a spherical shell to rotate the tool on the surface. You can even create and launch a series of stationary devices located around the planet. They will use rotating parts to measure wind and temperature.
If this project proves successful, then researchers will have a completely unique way to study extreme worlds in the Universe.
