In this paper new procedures for the measurement of mobility parameters, such as contact pressure, and an analysis of a low-pressure wheel model on deformable terrain, are presented. Because the lunar surface is covered by regolith which implies an irregular and rough terrain, the rover has difficulty in moving. Therefore a new low-pressure wheel is recommended for high mobility performance and low power consumption with a less complex mechanism. A low-pressure wheel can change its contact shape and pressure distribution to account for terrain. The presented measurement is achieved by a new measurement instrument on the wheel, and we presented analysis model is conducted through analysis of terramechanics mobility dynamics of a low-pressure wheel with normal stress. These procedures are valuable for evaluating the longitudinal velocity of the low-pressure wheel on deformable terrain.

Continuous on-orbit teleoperation of robots by operators on Earth is seriously impeded by signal transmission delays imposed by limits on computer processing at transmission stations and satellite relay stations. For Earth-orbit applications the time delay is normally between 5-7 seconds. On the other hand, it is well known that task execution performance can be dramatically improved with the addition of some kind of force reflection (FR) to the operator, although time delay makes its application extremely difficult. This paper reports on several proposals to improve continuous teleoperation through long communication delays using force reflecting hand controllers. It also addresses the implementation of these ideas for the ground teleoperation of the ETS-7 satellite robot arm. Results of the first extensive application of FR for ground teleoperation of a real space robot are explained in detail.