Comments Lisa Marcus Likes
Sweet, glorious profit! "Home is where the heart is, but the stars are made of latinum."
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I suppose the general basis of space exploration and exploration on Earth is basically the same: if you can get there, you can have it.
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The hedgehogs do not have wheels, as do the current Mars rovers. Instead they rely on three rotating discs enclosed within each hedgehog, with each disc pointing in a different direction.
In the microgravity of Phobos, the inertial forces of the spinning disks allow the hedgehogs to move nimbly and precisely in environments that would leave other robots bouncing or floating uncontrollably. Quickly accelerating the discs causes the hedgehog to hop, while spinning them even faster results in a bound. Accelerating the discs just slightly makes the hedgehogs tumble, ideal for fine maneuvering.