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In other words, steampunk in the space age. ;D
ORIGINAL CAPTION: AREE is a clockwork rover inspired by mechanical computers. A JPL team is studying how this kind of rover could explore extreme environments, like the surface of Venus. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
https://phys.org/news/2017-08-clockwork-rover-venus.html
A very interesting project, not least in the way the rover would communicate with the orbiter:
B)
ORIGINAL CAPTION: AREE is a clockwork rover inspired by mechanical computers. A JPL team is studying how this kind of rover could explore extreme environments, like the surface of Venus. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
https://phys.org/news/2017-08-clockwork-rover-venus.html
A very interesting project, not least in the way the rover would communicate with the orbiter:
Another problem will be communications. Without electronics, how would you transmit science data? Current plans are inspired by another age-old technology: Morse code.
An orbiting spacecraft could ping the rover using radar. The rover would have a radar target, which if shaped correctly, would act like "stealth technology in reverse," Sauder said. Stealth planes have special shapes that disperse radar signals; Sauder is exploring how to shape these targets to brightly reflect signals instead. Adding a rotating shutter in front of the radar target would allow the rover to turn the bright, reflected spot on and off, communicating much like signal lamps on Navy ships.
B)