How to ride on the moon?

Soft landing can let us know the surface of the moon, but it is not enough, because it can only see a small area near the landing site, and more than a dozen "points" can not represent the whole surface of the moon. Scientific problems cannot be inferred casually. In order to expand the research scope, people think of sending cars to the moon and riding on wheels. Isn't it beautiful?

1970165438+1October 10 (after Americans landed on the moon twice), the former Soviet Union launched "Moon 17". There is an unmanned "lunar rover 1" on this lunar probe. 165438+1October 17 landed safely in the west of Yuhai. The next day (1 65438+1October 18), the "lunar rover1"automatically left the lunar module and went to the moon. This car has eight wheels and weighs 756 kilograms. Its actions are completely subject to ground command. Energy comes from pre-installed batteries, some of which use solar cells. It has many special devices that can climb a 30 slope and drive on the rugged surface of the moon without tipping over. You can also automatically collect moon rocks and moon soil for laboratory analysis. This grotesque eight-wheeled vehicle traveled 10.5 km on the surface of the moon in10 and a half months, and investigated the surface condition of 80,000 square meters. The physical properties and chemical composition of lunar soil were studied at hundreds of points. In the course of its work, it also photographed about 500,000 square meters of the surface of the moon and sent back 200 panoramic photos and 20,000 photos of Zhang Yue to the Earth. Until 197 1 year1year1October 4th, the earliest lunar rover ran out of energy and could not move, and stayed on the surface of the moon forever at 3817' north latitude and 35 west longitude.

197365438+1On October 8th, the former Soviet Union launched Lunar Rover 2 on Lunar 2 1 probe. Its structural appearance is similar to that of 1, but it is equipped with more power sources. 65438+1October 65438+May, opened at the bottom of Lemunia crater in Chenghai area last month. The crater is about 55 kilometers in diameter and has complex terrain. During the five days on the surface of the moon (don't forget, 1 day and night on the moon is a full moon, which is 27.3×24 hours long), it meanders for 37 kilometers, which is more than twice that of 1 car (mostly flat). It studied and measured the shapes of the lunar surface and various terrains, and sent back 88 high-quality panoramic views of the lunar surface.

The United States sent four "lunar rovers" to the moon, the earliest being wheelbarrows. The difference is that the American lunar rover was brought by astronauts who landed on the moon. 197 1 On February 5th, 2008, two astronauts, Shepard and Mitchell, on the American Apollo 14, walked on the moon with a two-wheeled cart loaded with their tools, instruments and cameras, thus leaving a second rut mark on the moon. The car also brought back 43.5 kilograms (96 pounds) of moon rocks.

1 971July 3 1 day, a second motor vehicle appeared on the moon-"Rover1". This car is quite exquisite, with a total length of about 3 meters and a weight of 209 kilograms (only 33 kilograms on the moon). The following four wheels are equipped with independent drive motors, which makes the action very flexible. Its tires are made of special rubber, which is still elastic even in the environment of MINUS 100 degrees. The driver can control the vehicle to move forward, backward, turn, climb (the maximum slope is also 30), accelerate and decelerate. The maximum speed on the surface of the moon is 18km, which is similar to the speed of a fast bicycle. Two astronauts of "Apollo 15" drove it for 27.9 kilometers, conducted multi-project investigations on the surface of the moon along the way, and collected lunar rock samples in different places. Subsequently, Apollo 16 and 17 also took the lunar rover and traveled 27 kilometers and 35 kilometers on the surface of the moon respectively. These lunar rovers are equipped with TV cameras and special transmission equipment, and the activities of astronauts on the lunar surface are sent back from the lunar rover.