How A Software Update Could Help The Curiosity Rover Travel Across Mars Faster
As advanced as the robotic rovers which explore Mars are, one thing that might surprise you is how slowly they travel. The NASA Curiosity rover, for example, has a top speed of less than 0.1 mph, far less than the typical human walking speed of 3 mph. Even though it could theoretically travel more than one hundred meters in a day, it typically travels just a few hundred meters per month.
That’s because the drivers who control the rover are very careful with it, avoiding any hazards which could potentially damage the rover — being especially aware of potential harm to its wheels, which are already damaged from its 11 years of travel across the Red planet. They need to avoid obstacles like large boulders and potential dangers like sharp rocks named gator backs for their rough surfaces, while still visiting sites of interest like climbing up the steep slopes of Mount Sharp, also known as Aeolis Mons, a mountain located within the crater whose layers represent millions of years of deposits.
Making plans for driving the rover is a balance between wanting to visit new and exciting locations within the Gale Crater, where Curiosity is based, for the sake of scientific interest, and trying to preserve the rover’s hardware so it can keep going for as long as possible.
In April 2023, though, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory uploaded a new software update to Curiosity which should enable it to drive faster, while reducing the wear on its wheels. The update is based on the software used by Curiosity’s young sibling, the Perseverance rover.
How A Software Update Could Help The Curiosity Rover Travel Across Mars Faster
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