SpaceX Mars/Moon rover

[lamontagne]

Thereby instigating the Morlock Culture...😉

You know, i'd rather be a Morlock than an Eloi...

Why are some people so certain an astronaut with a backpack couldn't fit in a Cybertruck?  Would be an awfully easy thing to try, after all, for once the thing actually exists....

[docmordrid]

Thereby instigating the Morlock Culture...😉

You know, i'd rather be a Morlock than an Eloi...

Why are some people so certain an astronaut with a backpack couldn't fit in a Cybertruck?  Would be an awfully easy thing to try, after all, for once the thing actually exists....

If all they need is to get from habitat to a vehicle with an ECLSS, why couldn't there be a small hand-carried suit unit?

[lamontagne]

Thereby instigating the Morlock Culture...😉

You know, i'd rather be a Morlock than an Eloi...

Why are some people so certain an astronaut with a backpack couldn't fit in a Cybertruck?  Would be an awfully easy thing to try, after all, for once the thing actually exists....

If all they need is to get from habitat to a vehicle with an ECLSS, why couldn't there be a small hand-carried suit unit?

Why not indeed?  I guess it really depends on what you will be doing with the vehicle, and if the Astronaut needs to move around at target.  And how bad of a problem is martian dust.
The Cybertruck without the doors might look pretty awesome.  You really don't need it to be pressurized if you have a spacesuit.

[geza]

If the main point here is the FuturoCyber coolness of the current design of the Earthly edition, then we can trust Elon Musk & Franz von Holzhausen to replicate that coolness somehow for further editions, including the Martian one with a larger pressurized volume.

From a more utilitarian point of view, the real issue is the concept of operation on the Martian surface. EVA is a trivial thing only in the movies, even half-century after the first Lunar EVA. As far as I know, MCP is very-very far from the first human vacuum chamber test. Suit port seems more reachable, but it keeps the inconvenience of a traditional pressure suit and requires rover to operate at suit-pressure. Etc.

Will surface work be an Apollo-type EVA, with people in pressure suits imitating Earthly activity in a hard way? Or, will they do almost everything from the shirtsleeve environment of a pressurized rover, like research submersibles operate? Or, from their base habitat, telerobotically? For zero-gee envireonments there are suggestions for equipments between a suit and a vechicle. Is something, like this, possible for Martian use?

Decide the nature of surface activity first. Then, design CyberTruck v. Martian accordingly.

[QuantumG]

Mars atmosphere actually makes a /huge/ difference on suit mobility.

[geza]

Mars atmosphere actually makes a /huge/ difference on suit mobility.

Why?

[RonM]

Mars atmosphere actually makes a /huge/ difference on suit mobility.

Why?

You don't need a thick thermal micrometeoriod garment because the atmosphere stops micrometeorites and temperature range is not as extreme. Movement will be easier with less layers.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermal_Micrometeoroid_Garment

[obi-wan]

Mars atmosphere actually makes a /huge/ difference on suit mobility.

Why?

You don't need a thick thermal micrometeoriod garment because the atmosphere stops micrometeorites and temperature range is not as extreme. Movement will be easier with less layers.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermal_Micrometeoroid_Garment

From a physiological point of view Mars atmosphere might as well be a hard vacuum - it's less than 0.1psia, so there's no noticeable difference in pressure differential across the suit. There is just enough atmosphere to make things more complicated - sublimators will not work for cooling, and multi-layer insulation won't work because of convection between layers. We'll have to go with some other form of insulation that may well be bulkier than MLI.

[RoboGoofers]

Moving around in full winter garb is pretty restrictive, too. certainly not as bad as a spacesuit, but getting into and out of a truck still when it's -20 is more cumbersome than in tshirt weather. And when you sit down those seats are cold!

cybertruck would have to be a two-seater t-top if you wanted suited people in it.

[meekGee]

Mars atmosphere actually makes a /huge/ difference on suit mobility.

Why?

You don't need a thick thermal micrometeoriod garment because the atmosphere stops micrometeorites and temperature range is not as extreme. Movement will be easier with less layers.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermal_Micrometeoroid_Garment

From a physiological point of view Mars atmosphere might as well be a hard vacuum - it's less than 0.1psia, so there's no noticeable difference in pressure differential across the suit. There is just enough atmosphere to make things more complicated - sublimators will not work for cooling, and multi-layer insulation won't work because of convection between layers. We'll have to go with some other form of insulation that may well be bulkier than MLI.

I don't think the conclusion is correct.

Since the temperature differences are much lower (no direct solar radiation, no zero K sky) regular insulation will work just fine, especially since, as you note, ambient pressure is really low.

Delta P across the suit is pretty much the same, agreed, but as QG pointed out, no MMOD shielding, which is a bigger deal.

The low pressure is enough to prevent sublimation (as you point out) which means lubricants and sealants work - so sealing is a lot easier.

Compared to lunar environment, the dust is a lot more benign since it's wind-eroded.

Overall, among space, lunar, and Mars suits, the Martian one is the easiest and lightest. (Least massive!)

[catiare]

Apologies for Necroposting but what y'all think of this SEMI-HOME concept as an off-the-shelf template for Moon/Mars rover?

Source: https://vanlifer.com/blogs/news/tesla-semi-campervan-concept-introducing-the-vanlifer-semi-home

[TomH]

Well, since this thread has recently been resurrected from the archives: I know what Elon has said about using the Tesla truck on Luna and Mars. In reading through the thread, several thoughts came to mind.

-Regolith, especially lunar, is difficult to deal with. So many moving parts are vulnerable to contamination and seizing.

-Tracked vehicles with wide wheel base and low Center of Mass lends to better traction and lower likelihood of roll-over.

-Roll over can still happen. Roll-cages are imperative. When you do roll over (any of you who owns a tractor knows how unsettling it is even with a roll cage) you have to find an even bigger vehicle to turn you back upright.

-Track Loaders (aka tracked skid steers) can utilize numerous attachments (many PTO powered) mounted at a common attachment point. Studying them can offer analogous lessons.

-Bespoke offroad motorhomes can offer analogous lessons.

-Antarctic expeditions via modified snow-cats can offer analogous lessons.

All of these photos offer (mostly) self-explanatory ideas that could be helpful in designing Lunar/Martian vehicles: