\tEnabling & Support<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t24\/09\/2025
\n\t\t\t\t109 views
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t4 likes<\/p>\n
The martian landscape is not the easiest terrain to get around. Some areas are too rocky for a wheeled rover to cross, and elsewhere a lack of distinctive features in the landscape can cause problems for a camera-based navigation system. For a flying drone, such a navigation issue can mean the difference between a safe landing and a crash. Dielof van Loon, a student from Delft University of Technology, investigated what would happen if the two explorers \u2013 rover and drone \u2013 teamed up.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRover mockups in Mars Yard<\/a><\/p>\n Typically, Mars rovers use a camera-based system to navigate the terrain of the Red Planet. Their main camera is attached to the top of a mast \u2013 a pole-like structure extending upwards from the robot\u2019s main body, creating the characteristic rover look.<\/p>\n The taller the mast, the further into the distance the camera can see. But there\u2019s a catch \u2013 the rover\u2019s movement across uneven terrain can cause the mast to vibrate, resulting in blurry images and potentially affecting other functions of the rover. This way, the swaying motion also limits the rover\u2019s speed.<\/p>\n To fix this issue, engineers have proposed adding a drone into the setup \u2013 one that could fly well above the rover to have a better view of the ground and would feed information about the surrounding terrain to the rover via a wireless connection. This would take the tall and heavy mast out of the equation, allowing the rover to drive faster.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\tDielof and his drone<\/a><\/p>\n The drone would serve another, secondary purpose: the draft from its propeller blades would clear away any fine martian dust from the rover\u2019s solar panels.<\/p>\n However, a free-flying drone would still face the problem that vast and empty plains pose to autonomous navigation \u2013 an issue that spelled the end of NASA\u2019s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter<\/a>, the first and so far only aircraft to take off, fly and land on the surface of another planet.<\/p>\n Dielof van Loon, a student from Delft University of Technology<\/a>, explored a possible solution during his internship at the European Space Agency\u2019s Planetary Robotics Laboratory<\/a>.<\/p>\n In his project, he investigated the potential of tether localisation, a technique that uses a physical tether attached to a drone to determine the drone\u2019s location.<\/p>\n