ODG’s Lunar Rover lands in Houston

by Jorge Stieber, President, Ontario Drive & Gear

In 2008, Ontario Drive and Gear Ltd. (ODG) of New Hamburg, Ontario, was invited to join a team of Canadian space technology companies to develop vehicle concepts for the Canadian Space Agency which are targeted to be the Canadian contribution to international Lunar and Mars missions in the coming years. Due to the harsh environment and difficult terrain in which Lunar and Mars rovers will operate, ODG will need to leverage 40 years of making the extreme-terrain, six and eight wheel drive Argo vehicles which are sold in over 70 countries around the world.

Relying on their extensive involvement with special vehicle projects (such as autonomous and remote control vehicles), ODG has since designed several vehicle concepts that were well received by both our space industry partners and the Canadian Space Agency. The resulting rover design is both rugged and simple, and features an innovative suspension design that lends it excellent terrain capabilities. Since then, a number of functional rover prototypes have been built which will be tested and evaluated at various locations around the world.

Last month ODG had the opportunity to demonstrate two rover prototypes to NASA officials at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. The demonstration took place at the JSC Planetary Analog Test Site (a.k.a. the “Rock Yard”) which simulates lunar and Mars planetary surfaces. The remote controlled rovers, named “Juno”, performed flawlessly, impressing the audience by climbing over waist high boulders and negotiating grades too steep for humans to climb. Additionally, the rovers’ ruggedness and ease of use ensured that any willing participant was able to try their hand at rover driving. Several NASA officials took the challenge and proved to be quite adept at the task.

On the day before the demonstration, the rovers attracted a lot of attention at a reception hosted by Neptec Design Group, the lead partner of the Canadian rover team. Jeremy Hanson and Dr. David St. Jacques, Canadian astronauts currently in Houston for training, had a sneak preview of the rovers and took the opportunity to get some hands-on experience in operating them. It was an excellent chance to get some feedback from the type of people that would eventually operate these vehicles in a lunar environment, and both astronauts came away impressed by the simplicity and capabilities of the rovers.

ODG's Lunar rover program continues to evolve at a rapid pace. In February 2010, six Juno rovers will be operating in the mountains of Hawaii during a NASA/CSA field demonstration. Several other small contracts are underway that will result in continuous improvement to the rovers. Additionally, work continues on various components such as wheels, electronics, vision systems, and battery packs. ODG, along with its partners, aims to continue impressing the international space exploration community with its simple and effective designs. Although it looks the same the night sky, the moon is definitely getting closer.

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