Future exploration missions pose demanding requirements towards access by vehicles to scientifically interesting sites on planetary surfaces. Driving requirements stem from the need of more flexibility in site selection, improved payload to vehicle mass ratios and higher mission success probabilities. This applies to the touchdown of landing vehicles as well as to the surface operations of roving vehicles. In order to support the design, development and operation of those vehicles on an experimental basis, the DLR Institute of Space Systems has deployed a new Landing and Mobility Test Facility (LAMA). The rationale of this facility is to provide a test bed to study vehicle-soil-interactions, like tip-over stability of landing vehicles or terrain accommodation of rovers, in a reduced gravity environment by weight offloading by an industrial robot system.
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