Arover (or sometimesplanetary rover) is aplanetary surfaceexplorationmachine designed to move over the rough surface of aplanet or otherplanetary-masscelestial bodies. Some rovers have been designed asland vehicles to transport members of ahuman spaceflight crew; others have been partially or fullyautonomous robots.
Rovers typically landed on anexoplanet (planets other thanEarth) or amoon via alander-stylespacecraft, tasked to move around and collect information about the terrain, and to takecrust samples such asdust,soil,rocks and evenliquids. They are essentialastrogeology tools forspace exploration.
Rovers arrive on spacecraft and are used in conditions very distinct from those on the Earth, which makes some demands on their design.
Rovers have to withstand high levels of acceleration, high and low temperatures,pressure, dust,corrosion,cosmic rays, remaining functional without repair for a needed period of time.
Rovers which land on celestial bodies far from the Earth, such as theMars Exploration Rovers, cannot be remotely controlled in real-time since thespeed at which radio signals travel is far too slow forreal-time ornear-real-time communication. For example, sending a signal from Mars to Earth takes between 3 and 21 minutes. These rovers are thus capable of operatingautonomously with little assistance from ground control as far asnavigation anddata acquisition are concerned, although they still require human input for identifying promising targets in the distance to which to drive, and determining how to position itself to maximize solar energy.[1] Giving a rover some rudimentary visual identification capabilities to make simple distinctions can allow engineers to speed up the reconnaissance.[1] During the NASA Sample Return Robot Centennial Challenge, a rover, namedCataglyphis, successfully demonstrated autonomous navigation, decision-making, and sample detection, retrieval, and return capabilities.[2]
Other rover designs that do not use wheeled approaches are possible. Mechanisms that utilize "walking" onrobotic legs, hopping, rolling, etc. are possible. For example,Stanford University researchers have proposed "Hedgehog", a smallcube-shaped rover that can controllably hop—or even spin out of a sandy sinkhole by corkscrewing upward to escape—for surface exploration oflow gravity celestial bodies.[3]
The Soviet rover was intended to be the first roving remote-controlledrobot on theMoon, but crashed during a failed start of the launcher 19 February 1969.
TheLunokhod 1 rover landed on the Moon in November 1970.[4] It was the first roving remote-controlled robot to land on any celestial body. TheSoviet Union launched Lunokhod 1 aboard theLuna 17 spacecraft on November 10, 1970, and it entered lunar orbit on November 15. The spacecraft soft-landed in theSea of Rains region on November 17. The lander had dual ramps from which Lunokhod 1 could descend to the lunar surface, which it did at 06:28 UT. From November 17, 1970, to November 22, 1970, the rover drove 197 m, and during 10 communication sessions returned 14 close up pictures of the Moon and 12 panoramic views. It also analyzed the lunar soil. The last successful communications session with Lunokhod 1 was on September 14, 1971, having operated for 11 months.[5]
NASA includedLunar Roving Vehicles in threeApollo missions:Apollo 15 (which landed on the Moon July 30, 1971),Apollo 16 (which landed April 21, 1972), andApollo 17 (which landed December 11, 1972).[6]
TheLunokhod 2 was the second of two uncrewed lunar rovers landed on theMoon by theSoviet Union as part of theLunokhod program. The rover became operational on theMoon on January 16, 1973.[7] It was the second roving remote-controlledrobot to land on any celestial body. TheSoviet Union launched Lunokhod 2 aboard theLuna 21 spacecraft on January 8, 1973, and the spacecraft soft-landed in the eastern edge of theMare Serenitatis region on January 15, 1973. Lunokhod 2 descended from the lander's dual ramps to the lunar surface at 01:14 UT on January 16, 1973. Lunokhod 2 operated for about four months, covered 39 km (24 mi) of terrain, including hillyupland areas andrilles, and sent back 86 panoramic images and over 80,000 TV pictures.[8][9][10] Based on wheel rotations Lunokhod 2 was thought to have covered 37 km (23 mi) but Russian scientists at the Moscow State University of Geodesy and Cartography (MIIGAiK) have revised that to an estimated distance of about 42.1–42.2 km (26.2–26.2 mi) based on Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) images of the lunar surface.[11][12] Subsequent discussions with their American counterparts ended with an agreed-upon final distance of 39 km (24 mi), which has stuck since.[13][14]
The Soviet rover was intended to be the third roving remote-controlled robot on the Moon in 1977. The mission was canceled due to lack of launcher availability and funding, although the rover was built.
Chang'e 3 is a Chinese Moon mission that includes a robotic roverYutu, named after the pet rabbit ofChang'e, the goddess of the Moon in Chinese mythology. Launched in 2013 with theChang'e 3 mission, it is China's first lunar rover, the first soft landing on the Moon since 1976 and the first rover to operate there since the SovietLunokhod 2 ceased operations on 11 May 1973.[15] It was deployed on the Moon on December 14, 2013, and the rover encountered operational difficulties toward the end of the second lunar day[16] after surviving and recovering successfully the first 14-day lunar night (about a month on the Moon),[17] and was unable to move after the end of the second lunar night, though it continued to gather useful information for some months afterward.[18] In October 2015,Yutu set the record for the longest operational period for a rover on the Moon.[19] On 31 July 2016,Yutu ceased to operate after a total of 31 months, well beyond its original expected lifespan of three months.[20]
Chandrayaan-2 was the second lunar mission by India, consisting of a lunar orbiter, a lander namedVikram, and a rover namedPragyan. The rover weighing 27 kg,[21] had six wheels and was to be operated onsolar power.[22] Launched on 22 July 2019, the mission entered lunar orbit on August 20.Pragyan was destroyed along with its lander,Vikram, when it crash-landed on the Moon on 6 September 2019 and never got the chance to deploy.[23][24]
Rashid was a lunar rover built byMBRSC to be launched onboardIspace's lander called Hakuto-R. The rover was launched in November 2022, but was destroyed as the lander crash landed in April 2023.[25] It was equipped with two high-resolution cameras, a microscopic camera to capture small details, and a thermal imaging camera. The rover carried aLangmuir probe, designed to study the Moon's plasma and will attempt to explain why Moon dust is so sticky.[26]
Takara Tomy,JAXA andDoshisha University made a rover to be launched onboardIspace's lander called Hakuto-R. It was launched in 2022, but was destroyed as the lander crash landed in April 2023.[27][28][29]
Chandrayaan-3 is a mission by India's space agency (ISRO), consisting of a lunar lander and thePragyan rover. It was a re-attempt to demonstrate soft landing, following the failure ofChandrayaan-2'sVikram lander. It was launched on 14 July 2023 on theLVM-3 launch vehicle and has soft landed near south pole of the Moon August 23 at 6.04 PM IST. The 26 kg 6 wheeled roverPragyan has descend from lander belly, on to the Moon's surface, using one of its side panels as a ramp. The rover will carry out in-situ chemical analysis of the lunar surface during its course of its mobility.[30] The rover was deployed on 23 August[31] and was put into sleep mode after completing all its objectives on 3 September. It later died during that lunar night.[32]
Peregrine launched towards the Moon on 8 January 2024, taking with it 5Colmena rovers and aIris rover.[33] After separation from the launch vehicle a fault occurred preventing it from completing its mission. The spacecraft instead returned toEarth's atmosphere, where it disintegrated on 18 January.[34]
The SLIM lander has two rovers onboard, Lunar Excursion Vehicle 1 (LEV-1) (hopper) and Lunar Excursion Vehicle 2 (LEV-2), a tiny rover developed by JAXA in joint cooperation withTomy,Sony Group, andDoshisha University.[35] The first rover has direct-to-Earth communication. The second rover is designed to change its shape to traverse around the landing site over a short lifespan of two hours. SLIM was launched on September 6, 2023, and reached lunar orbit on 25 December 2023. They two rovers were successfully deployed and landed separately from SLIM shortly before it own landing on 19 January 2024.[36] LEV-1 conducted six hops on lunar surface and LEV-2 imaged SLIM lander on lunar surface.[37]
The Chang'e 6sample return mission carried a rover calledJinchan to conductinfrared spectroscopy of lunar surface.Jinchan was also used to image the Chang'e 6 lander on lunar surface.[38]
The IM-2Athena lander carried a number of rovers to lunar surface, including MAPP LV1, Micro-NovaGracie, the AstroAnt miniature rover and the JapaneseYaoki. The lander was intact after touchdown but resting on its side.[39] The rovers were not deployed.[40]
TheHakuto-R Mission 2 was developed by the Japanese companyispace and launched on 15 January 2025. It included a 5 kg (11 lb) rover called "TENACIOUS", designed and manufactured inLuxembourg, to be lowered to the lunar surface from the lander and explore the area around the landing site.[41] During the lunar landing on 5 June 2025, the lander lost communications approximately 90 seconds before touchdown and crashed on the surface.[42]
The SovietMars 2 andMars 3 landers each had a small 4.5 kgPrOP-M rover on board, which would have moved across the surface onskis while connected to the lander with a 15-meter umbilical. Two small metal rods were used for autonomous obstacle avoidance, as radio signals from Earth would have taken too long to drive the rovers using remote control. The rover was planned to be placed on the surface after landing by a manipulator arm and to move in the field of view of the television cameras and stop to make measurements every 1.5 meters. The rover tracks in the Martian soil would also have been recorded to determine material properties. Because of the crash landing of Mars 2 and the communication failure (15 seconds post landing) of Mars 3, neither rover was deployed.
TheMarsokhod was a Soviet rover (hybrid, with both controlstelecommand and automatic) aimed at Mars, part of theMars 4NM and scheduled to commence after 1973 (according to the plans of 1970). It was to be launched by aN1 rocket, which never flew successfully.[43]
TheMars Pathfinder mission includedSojourner, the first rover to successfully deploy on another planet.NASA launched Mars Pathfinder on 4 December 1996; it landed on Mars in a region calledChryse Planitia on 4 July 1997.[44] From its landing until the final data transmission on 27 September 1997, Mars Pathfinder returned 16,500 images from the lander and 550 images fromSojourner, as well as data from more than 15 chemical analyses of rocks and soil and extensive data on winds and other weather factors.[44]
Beagle 2 was designed to explore Mars with a small "mole" (Planetary Undersurface Tool, or PLUTO), to be deployed by the arm. PLUTO had a compressed spring mechanism designed to enable it to move across the surface at a rate of 20 mm per second and to burrow into the ground, collecting a subsurface sample in a cavity in its tip. Beagle 2 failed while attempting to land on Mars in 2003.
Spirit is arobotic rover on Mars, active from 2004 to 2010. It was one of two rovers ofNASA's ongoingMars Exploration Rover mission. It landed successfully onMars at 04:35Ground UTC on January 4, 2004, three weeks before its twin,Opportunity (MER-B), landed on the other side of the planet. Its name was chosen through aNASA-sponsored student essay competition. The rover became stuck in late 2009, and its last communication with Earth was sent on March 22, 2010.
Opportunity is arobotic rover on the planet Mars, active from 2004 to early 2019. Launched fromEarth on July 7, 2003, it landed on theMartianMeridiani Planum on January 25, 2004, at 05:05Ground UTC (about 13:15local time), three weeks after its twinSpirit (MER-A) touched down on the other side of the planet. On July 28, 2014, NASA announced thatOpportunity, after having traveled over 40 km (25 mi) on the planetMars, has set a new "off-world" record as the rover having driven the greatest distance, surpassing the previous record held by the Soviet Union'sLunokhod 2 rover that had traveled 39 km (24 mi).[45][46]
Zhurong rover was a Chinese Mars rover operated byCNSA.It was launched fromWenchang by aLong March 5 carrier rocket on 23 July 2020, 23:18 UTC. It deployed successfully on Mars at 22 May 2021, 02:40 UTC.[47] It was designed for 90sols (93 Earth days), and operated for 347sols (356.5 Earth days) and travelled 1.921Km/1.194Mi.The rover was deactivated on 20 May 2022 due to an approaching sandstorm and Martian winter,[48] waiting to be self-reactivation during favorable condition.Zhurong was expected to reactivate in December 2022, but due to excessive dust accumulation on the solar panel, the rover could not wake itself. On 25 April 2023, chief designer Zhang Rongqiao indicated that the rover could be inactive "forever".[49]
On 26 November 2011, NASA'sMars Science Laboratory mission was successfully launched for Mars. The mission successfully landed the roboticCuriosity rover on the surface of Mars in August 2012. The rover is currently helping to determine whether Mars could ever have supported life, and search for evidence of past or presentlife on Mars.[50][51]
NASA'sPerseverance rover is a part of theMars 2020 mission, launched in 2020 and landed on Mars on February 18, 2021. It is intended to investigate anastrobiologically relevant ancient environment on Mars, investigate its surfacegeological processes and history, including the assessment of its pasthabitability and potential for preservation ofbiosignatures within accessible geological materials.[52]
ChineseChang'e 4 mission launched 7 December 2018, landed and deployed rover 3 January 2019 on thefar side of the Moon. It was the first ever rover that operates on the far side of the Moon.
In December 2019,Yutu 2 broke the lunar longevity record, previously held by the Soviet Union'sLunokhod 1 rover,[53] which operated on the lunar surface for eleven lunar days (321 Earth days) and traversed a total distance of 10.54 km (6.55 mi).[54]
In February 2020, Chinese astronomers reported, for the first time, a high-resolution image of alunar ejecta sequence, and, as well, direct analysis of its internal architecture. These were based on observations made by theLunar Penetrating Radar (LPR) on board theYutu-2 rover while studying thefar side of the Moon.[55][56]
 | This section needs to beupdated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(September 2025) |
The European Space Agency (ESA) has designed and carried out early prototyping and testing of theRosalind Franklin rover. As a result ofRussia'sinvasion ofUkraine,ESA severed ties withRoscosmos and was left without a launch vehicle for this mission. The mission now plans to launch no earlier than (NET) 2028 with a landing around 2030.[57]
A 350 kilogram rover is planned to be built byMitsubhishi Heavy Industries[58] for the upcoming Indo-JapaneesLUPEX mission.The rover would carry multiple instruments byJAXA andISRO including a drill to collect sub-surface samples from 1.5 m (4 ft 11 in) depth.[59][60]
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