Abstract
JAXA is developing a mobile rover to lunar surface exploration or base construction as a follow-on KAGUYA. Because the lunar surface is covered by regolith, implying an irregular and rough terrain, the rover has difficulty in mobility. Therefore a new low-pressure wheel is recommended for high mobility performance and low power consumption. A low-pressure wheel can change its contact shape and pressure distribution to account for terrain. In this paper, the procedure for the evaluation of drawbar pull calculated by shear stress on the deformable terrain is presented. This procedure is valuable for analyzing the interaction between a low-pressure wheel and the deformable terrain.
