The MUSES-CN nanorover mission and related technology

Abstract

Recent advances in microtechnology and mobile robotics have made it feasible to create extremely small automated or remote-controlled vehicles which open new application frontiers. One of these possible applications is the use of nanorovers (robotic vehicles with a mass of order 1 kg or less) in planetary exploration. NASA and Japan's ISAS are cooperating on the first mission to collect samples from the surface of an asteroid and return them to Earth for in-depth study. The ISAS MUSES-C mission will be launched on a Japanese launch vehicle in July 2002 from Japan toward a redezvous with the asteroid 1989ML in September 2003. A NASA-provided nanorover will conduct in-situ measurements on the surface. Asteroid samples will be returned to Earth by MUSES-C via a parachute-borne recovery capsule in June 2006. This paper describes the rover being created for this mission and related technology developments.