Mini Mars Rover

It’s shortened, cuz of rules so read the actual readme

What Is It?

It is a Mars rover, made to be small and basically a mini version of a rover. Why is it mini? This is because regular-sized rovers are about 10 feet long; this rover is about 3 feet. Big rovers cost lots of money, effort, and time because they are huge and cannot be mass-produced, not to mention the amount of effort required to make sure this 10-foot gargantuan lands properly.

What Does It Contain?

Rocker-Bogie System & Wheels

Let’s start with the structure that holds up the rover and helps it roll through the Martian environment. This structure is called a Rocker-Bogie system. It consists of 2 parts of the wheel framework that attach to each other and rotate. The two parts allow the whole vehicle to be stable, which is extremely important on Mars. This rotation allows the rover to go over several bumps or tiny high hills without crashing.

Next are the wheels: heavy-duty wheels scaled to fit the robot. They rotate and feature grooves for better grip, made with plastic and metal.

Cameras, Antennas & Power

If you turn my robot around, on the back it has cameras that allow the vehicle to see behind it. On top of the body, at the very top, there is a Pancam Mast Assembly (PMA)—a tall elevated mast used on my rover to hold panoramic and navigation cameras (similar to the Spirit and Opportunity rovers).

The top also contains a solar panel so these mini ’lil bots can harvest solar energy to work. I decided against using radioactive plutonium as a power/heat source because it would be expensive and difficult to use.

Next, it has a Low Gain Antenna that looks like a stick. It serves as a backup or failsafe to receive direct-from-Earth commands without needing to precisely point, unlike the High Gain Antenna (which looks like a broken pickleball paddle) that concentrates its signal in a focused beam.

Internal Mechanisms & Robotic Arms

Inside the front of the rover’s body, there is a pair of hinged doors that open and close to protect the interior.

Behind those doors are two rods and two mechanical arms:

Claw Arm: Made of 3 parts (2 long metal strips connected together and a claw that can adjust its grip size).
Drill Arm: Equipped with a drill bit used to break martian materials for sample storage.

Each arm stands on a rod, allowing them to change direction vertically and making the process of extracting materials very easy. Additionally, two solar panels attach to a cylindrical piston that expands and retracts to push the panels out or pull them inside safely at night.

Mars Ascent Vehicles (MAV)

Finally, stored at the back are 4 Mars Ascent Vehicles (MAV). The robot stores collected samples inside these rockets, allowing them to eject and safely travel back to Earth for further experimentation.

Have fun, and be sure to give me a nice rating so I can get some nice prizes!! :D