2019 Volume 18 Pages 189-198
In this paper, we evaluate a mobility system using skids for a small lander. The small lander named Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM) has been developed by ISAS/JAXA. In the small lander mission such as SLIM, planetary surface exploration after the landing will become difficult due to the restriction of the lander's payload weight for a rover and observation equipment. To solve this problem, we propose the mobility system using skid-sliding to improve exploration capability of the small lander mission. We confirmed the skids' sliding potential of the small lander using numerical simulation. The simulation showed that the small lander can travel to the desired direction using skids and thruster control.
