NASA’s newest scientific rover is set for testing May 3 through June 8 in the highest part of Greenland.
The robot known as GROVER, which stands for both Greenland Rover and Goddard Remotely Operated Vehicle for Exploration and Research, will roam the frigid landscape collecting measurements to help scientists better understand changes in the massive ice sheet.
This autonomous, solar-powered robot carries a ground-penetrating radar to study how snow accumulates, adding layer upon layer to the ice sheet over time.
Greenland’s surface layer vaulted into the news in summer 2012 when higher than normal temperatures caused surface melting across about 97 percent of the ice sheet. Scientists at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., expect GROVER to detect the layer of the ice sheet that formed in the aftermath of that extreme melt event.
Research with polar rovers costs less than aircraft or satellites, the usual platforms.
“Robots like GROVER will give us a new tool for glaciology studies,” said Lora Koenig, a glaciologist at Goddard and science advisor on the project.
GROVER will be joined on the ice sheet in June by another robot, named Cool Robot, developed at Dartmouth College, Hanover, N.H., with funding from the National Science Foundation. This rover can tow a variety of instrument packages to conduct glaciological and atmospheric sampling studies.
GROVER was developed in 2010 and 2011 by teams of students participating in summer engineering boot camps at Goddard. The students were interested in building a rover and approached Koenig about whether a rover could aid her studies of snow accumulation on ice sheets. This information typically is gathered by radars carried on snowmobiles and airplanes. Koenig suggested putting a radar on a rover for this work.
Koenig, now a science adviser on the GROVER Project, asked Hans-Peter Marshall, a glaciologist at Boise State University to bring in his expertise in small, low-power, autonomous radars that could be mounted on GROVER. Since its inception at the boot camp, GROVER has been fine-tuned, with NASA funding, at Boise State.
The tank-like GROVER prototype stands six feet tall, including its solar panels. It weighs about 800 pounds and traverses the ice on two repurposed snowmobile tracks. The robot is powered entirely by solar energy, so it can operate in pristine polar environments without adding to air pollution. The panels are mounted in an inverted V, allowing them to collect energy from the sun and sunlight reflected off the ice sheet.
A ground-penetrating radar powered by two rechargeable batteries rests on the back of the rover. The radar sends radio wave pulses into the ice sheet, and the waves bounce off buried features, informing researchers about the characteristics of the snow and ice layers.
From a research station operated by the National Science Foundation called Summit Camp, a spot where the ice sheet is about 2 miles thick, GROVER will crawl at an average speed of 1.2 mph (2 kilometers per hour). Because the sun never dips below the horizon during the Arctic summer, GROVER can work at any time during the day and should be able to work longer and gather more data than a human on a snowmobile.
The Latest Bing News on:
NASA Rover
- It's Been 20 Years Since NASA Drew A Penis On Marson April 26, 2024 at 8:02 am
NASA scientists, according to Futurism, claim this is a “standard rover turning maneuver” and have done similar drawings with the tracks of the earlier Opportunity and later Curiosity rovers as well. So Mars actually has three dicks! It’s a regular sausage fest on the fourth planet from the sun, eh?
- A rover captures images of 'spiders' on Mars in Inca City. But what is it, really?on April 25, 2024 at 2:01 pm
A rover captured signs of clustered dark dots on Mars' Inca City that resemble spiders, which formed due to seasonal eruptions of carbon dioxide gas.
The Latest Google Headlines on:
NASA Rover
[google_news title=”” keyword=”NASA Rover” num_posts=”10″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]
The Latest Bing News on:
Autonomous solar-powered robot
- XPONENTIAL 2024 Opens With An Emphasis on Autonomous Military Techon April 25, 2024 at 8:20 am
Keynote Sets Tone for New Leadership AUVSI plans to launch “Robot Ready” Campaign in 2025. Michael Brasseur (USN Ret.), Chief Strategy Officer at Saab Inc., and Aaron Pierce, CEO of Pierce Aerospace, ...
- Darpa Shows Off A Beastly 12-Ton Electric Robot Tank With Glowing Eyeson April 25, 2024 at 7:27 am
The new testing included an autonomous route, which tested for mobility and demonstration, including sensor point cloud visualizations.
- Amazon vets raise $4.5M for solar-powered aircraft companyon April 24, 2024 at 2:46 pm
The company announced the funding on Wednesday, adding that the money will grow Radical's team and help develop its technology. Radical co-founder and CEO James Thomas said the company has four ...
- Radical thinks the time has come for solar-powered, high-altitude autonomous aircrafton April 24, 2024 at 11:52 am
Its high-altitude, solar-powered aircraft aim to succeed where Facebook’s infamous Aquila failed by refining the tech and embracing more markets. It’s hard to believe that Facebook’s ambitious plan to ...
- Roomba Combo j7+ is a great alternative to the pricey j9+on April 24, 2024 at 8:28 am
The Roomba Combo j7+ is easily one of the smartest robot vacuums that iRobot has ever made. It’s a powerful autonomous vacuum and mop that ... Not everyone needs or even wants all that power though, ...
- Vehicles Newson April 21, 2024 at 5:00 pm
as well as improve traffic flow for both autonomous ... Mar. 14, 2024 — Advanced killer robots are more likely to blamed for civilian deaths than military machines, new research has revealed.
- Technology provider announces robotics system to keep solar panels at peak performance — here's how it workson April 21, 2024 at 3:30 am
This technology could make it easier for homeowners to keep their panels spotless. Technology provider announces robotics system to keep solar panels at peak performance — here's how it works first ...
- This solar-building robot is designed to solve one of the industry’s biggest problemson April 19, 2024 at 2:00 am
Clean energy is an important source of new jobs. Hunter says the startup isn’t aiming to replace people, but to enable more construction that wouldn’t have been possible otherwise. “Fewer people can ...
- Robot tackles trauma's silent killeron April 15, 2024 at 5:00 pm
A Johns Hopkins University doctoral student is developing an AI-powered robot that could one day help first responders detect and treat life-threatening internal bleeding on the way to the hospital.
- Could Drones Charge Themselves from Overhead Power Lines?on April 15, 2024 at 8:54 am
New research proposes a method by which drones could charge themselves from overhead power lines. If it works, it could solve a fundamental problem that has held back drone development.The research ...
The Latest Google Headlines on:
Autonomous solar-powered robot
[google_news title=”” keyword=”autonomous solar-powered robot” num_posts=”10″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]