Space exploration is a difficult task to be carried out directly by humans, this is why a rover''s role is very important. A rover should be able to access the area where human beings want to explore, and be able to fulfill the required level of work needed for the exploration. Therefore, the performance of the rover is bound to affect the space exploration mission.
The purpose of this paper is to improve the traversability and energy acquisition of space exploration rovers operating in various types of rough terrain. The mobility and stability of the exploration rover are affected by the change of the center of mass position. Thus, to improve the traversability, the rotation (pitching, rolling) of the rover body, which occupies most of the rover mass, is considered for moving the center of mass.
In Chapter 2, static analysis of step obstacle climbing and slope travel was performed to confirm the effects on moving center of mass through body rotation. As a result, it was confirmed that moving the center of mass through rotation of the body in the step obstacle climbing has the effect of lowering the reaction force of the obstacle wall and the frictional force coefficient required when climbing obstacle. In the case of slope, it was confirmed that the maximum load applied to the axle can be lowered through controlling the load distribution so that the load is not concentrated, and the stability can be ensured. Also, it was confirmed that when the rotation of the body for moving the center of mass is applied to the solar azimuth tracking of the rover using solar energy, the energy acquisition increase is higher at higher latitudes of the moon. In Chapter 3, in order to verify the analysis of Chapter 2, a test rover platform equipped with body rotation mechanism and measurement sensor, and test field according to experimental conditions was designed and constructed. In Chapter 4, experiments related to step obstacle climbing and the forward slope travel were conducted. In the case of the step obstacle climbing experiment, it was confirmed a reduction of the reaction force of the wall surface of the obstacle and the friction coefficient required for the climbing analyzed in Chapter 2. In the case of the forward slope running test, it was confirmed that the load equalization effect by the load distribution control analyzed in Chapter 2 reduces the maximum load value acting on the axle, the friction coefficient and energy consumption required for the slope travel. Chapter 5 contains summary and conclusion of the study.