The main objective of the TRAILER project is to develop a compound rover system consisting of (i) an agile and powerful rover, the so-called TRACTOR subsystem, equipped with high performance locomotion and navigation, local wireless transceiver, short-term energy storage, sample acquisition system, and (ii) an active trailer, the so-called WAIN subsystem, equipped with limited locomotion and navigation, high power generation or storage and local wireless network that could assure lunar-earth communication and host a scientific laboratory for sample collection and analysis.
The main purpose of the TRAILER project is to develop and test a novel architecture of robotic exploration vehicles for coming lunar surface missions. A combination of a versatile rover that can dock and undock from a larger carrier vehicle might have several advantages in coming mission scenarios where on one hand large areas have to be traversed and on the other hand specific spots need to be explored - spots that might be hard to reach such as craters with steep slopes, or permanently shadowed regions.
Partners
COMEX SA - Compagnie Maritime d'Expertises (France)
Liquifer Systems Group (Austria)