Rover Collects Rocks from Active Volcanoes During Moon Simulation Missions
While working out of a hotel room in Italy, astronaut Thomas Reiter orders a four-wheeled robot to retrieve rock from the surface of an active volcano on Sicily’s east coast, and he does so while role-playing as if he were in orbit. around the Moon. The four-day simulation is part of the European Space Agency’s (ESA) preparations for a future mission to the Moon, where it plans to land a rover on the lunar surface to collect rock samples. The rover, as part of the upcoming Artemis mission, will be guided by a team on Earth, as well as astronauts on Lunar Gateway, the planned space station that will orbit the Moon. Crawler Scouts walk around Mount Etna. (Gif: ESA) Although not the Moon, Mount Etna’s volcanic surface serves as an analogue to the Moon’s surface. The four-wheeled and two-armed Interact rover has been modified for rugged volcanic slopes, and explores rough terrain with two other rovers, Light Cruiser Units 1 and 2, belonging to the German Aerospace Center. A