Our team must design a transportation method capable of a 5-kilometre-long round trip on Ganymede, one of Jupiter’s moons. This vehicle must handle extreme conditions including temperatures as low as -180C, low gravity(a tenth of Earth’s), rocky terrain, and interference from the planet’s magnetic field affecting electronics.

We are testing the vehicle’s capability of navigating icy and rocky terrain, conditions similar to those of Ganymede.

To test these, we are considering small ice cubes, mimicking the frozen surface-level terrain, dirt, and larger rocks.

Design Ideas

• Jetpack – This idea clearly would not work since we need to transport 4 people and be efficient enough to go 2.5km there and back.
• Drone – This idea would not work very well since drones are typically quite small, not able to carry 4 people. However, if we scaled it up to a helicopter, it would be possible assuming we know and understand the air and “characteristics” to make it fly.
• Plane – Similar to the drone, we would have to fully understand how to make something lift on a different planet than Earth, as well as think about fuel efficiency as these resources aren’t widely available on Ganymede.
• Double Wishbone Suspension – For individual wheel movement, not dragging the whole vehicle down if one is stuck, enhanced articulation and improved wheel contact
• 4WD – For better off-roading capabilities, allowing them to independently operate.
• 4 Wheel Steering – allows each wheel on the same axle to move independently from the other wheel on the axle, enhanced traction
• Low-Pressure Tires – because Ganymede has different air pressure than Earth, if you fill it with air, the negative air pressure will make it explode, rendering the vehicle useless.
• Hybrid Powertrain – by combining a small displacement engine and 2-4 electric motors to accompany them, you will be able to achieve higher mileage than pure electricity or pure internal combustion engine.

Our Design Proposal

We ended up coming up with the idea of a G Wagon Buggy style vehicle, which included double wishbone suspension, 4-wheel steering and low psi tires, as well as a hybrid powertrain. We would like to include a 1-2l displacement engine in the final product as a higher displacement would be less efficient, as well as 2-4 electric motors for the low RPM torque and well-insulated batteries to combat the extremely low temperatures on Ganymede. We are also using low-pressure tires to ensure the tires do not burst, 4-wheel steering allowing each wheel on the same axle to move independently, 4-wheel drive, and double wishbone suspension to tackle the rocky, icy terrain.

Mechanical Drawing

BOM: 

PLA

Velcro

RC car (Already have)

Gorilla Glue