Six-wheeled chassis is the basis of the mobile robot.
There are two rear wheels with a direct drive and two pairs of front and middle freely rotating wheels.
A special six-gear transmission transmits motion from the third motor to control the position of the light sensor.
A pair of two-gear transmission control shutters protecting the bay for the solar panel and electronics box. Shutters can be closed in case of dust storm or high levels of solar and cosmic radiation.
The mobile robot is equipped with three scientific instruments:
1. Wind Speed Meter (WSM) is built using an ultrasonic sensor. The motion of the blades in the wind is transferred to the two flat elements rotating above the sensor and reflecting ultrasonic signal. The number of changes of the sensor signal (distance) per second is proportional to wind speed.
2. Multi-channel radiation detector (MCRD) is built using a sound sensor. You can use a periodic sound source at various levels and frequencies to emulate the "radiation conditions". Any program (for PC or Smartphone) with the functions of a metronome is suitable for this case.
Since the instrument is able to distinguish between the frequency (channel) "radiation" - it is possible to distinguish the level and types of "radiation" (solar, cosmic rays, natural radiation in the Martian rock)!
3. Water and Light Detector (WLD) has two positions. It measures the level of the light signal reflected from the Martian rocks in the lower position. It can be used to search for frozen water. The instrument measures the level of ambient light in the upper position. It can be used to find suitable places where it is possible to install solar panels.
The NXT-program run six parallel beams.
The first beam shows the state of the rover and collected information on the display.
The next three are designed to collect and process data from science instruments.
The last two beams implement command processing (like open/close solar panel) inside NXT and data exchange with external systems.
A special PC-program called "ME2 Control Center" allows an operator to remotely control the direction and speed of the rover. The program also tracks the location of the rover using a map for the studied region of the surface.
The operator can monitor and control the state of the solar battery. They can also receive data from scientific instruments and mark them on the map.