A three-legged robot called SpaceHopper can help solve problems related to the study of low-gravity environments. For example, on asteroids or the moon.
The SpaceHopper program was first launched two and a half years ago as a student research project at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETH Zurich). Recently, the researchers tested the hopping robot in a simulated zero-gravity environment. During the European Space Agency’s parabolic flight, the university said in a statement.
The robot has a triangular body with an articulated leg at each corner. Each of these three legs has a knee and a hip joint, which allows the robot to push off from the surface. Push off to move in space and control its landing within a defined area. SpaceHopper is designed to study relatively small celestial bodies, such as asteroids and satellites, where gravity is almost absent.
“Asteroids are believed to contain valuable mineral resources that could be useful to humanity in the future,” the researchers said in a statement. “The study of these bodies can also give us insight into the formation of our universe.”
However, studying these types of celestial bodies can be challenging. In an environment with near-zero gravity, there is virtually no traction between the spacecraft’s wheels and the surface it travels on; there is almost no atmosphere for the spacecraft to fly through, if any. Therefore, SpaceHopper performs short jumps up and sideways to move up and sideways.
The recent parabolic flight allowed researchers to simulate the low-gravity conditions in which SpaceHopper could one day be deployed. Video taken during the flight shows the SpaceHopper pushing off with each of its three legs in a coordinated motion to stay airborne during periods of zero gravity, which occurred about 30 times during the flight, for about 20-25 seconds each.