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Have you ever seen wheels like Nomad's before? Probably not. That's because Nomads wheels were specially designed for space and the desert.
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What's so special about the tires?Nomad's tires are made of aluminum. The tires have to be made of metal because rubber tires would disintegrate in a vaccum. So all space rovers must use metal wheels. The tires are completely enclosed so the desert sand can't get into them. Plastic treads were also added to the wheels so they would have better traction on the bumpy terrain. |
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| The motors that drive Nomad are inside the wheels. To help keep the weight of the robot as low to the ground as possible, the motors go underneath the axles. Having four motors, one in each wheel, makes the design much simpler and allows the computers to have better control. |
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Last Modified on: Thu Jun 12, 1997