Experiments & analysis of the role of solar power in limiting mars rover range

Abstract

A common explanation for the limited distance traveled by NASA's past and planned Mars rovers is the limits of solar power. This paper explores this hypothesis and documents a series of experiments with a solar powered rover. A detailed comparison between our rover and Sojourner, with regards to power usage, is presented. Experiments and analysis clearly show that other factors dominate in limiting the range of NASA's solar powered robots when operating on Mars.