Virtual  Moonyard  Lunar  Hazard  Obstacle - Course      Real-time 3D Dynamic Simulations
This is a real-time 3D simulation of a "Virtual Moonyard Lunar Hazard Obstacle Course" which was inspired by the physical "Mars yards" at NASA centers such as JPL and Ames Research Center. As America prepares to return to the Moon, first robotically and later with human crews, the use of virtual as well as physical test-beds will speed engineering and produce more effective, lower cost spacecraft. This simulation was developed for the Robotic Lunar Exploration Program second mission (RLEP2) headed by NASA's Marshall Spaceflight and Ames Research Centers. The goal of this simulation was to provide a low analog yet useful lunar surface model including small craters (negative hazards), ridges (high-centering hazards), rocks, and slopes of varying steepness and allow users to drive four classes of vehicles over that surface. The four types of virtual vehicles provided include: a four wheeled vehicle derived from the original Apollo Lunar Roving Vehicle, a six wheeled rocker-bogie Mars Science Laboratory rover, a skid-steering DARPA-derived vehicle, and a simple version of JPL's ATHLETE "spider" fully articulated vehicle. In this simulation, we have created all four drive-able (by keyboard or joystick) virtual rovers which have controls for speed and motor torque. We invite you to view the movies and still images showing the simulation in action and you may also download and install the simulation for a first hand experience of driving all four vehicles.

Movies of the Simulation

Click Here For the movie links to view movies of the Lunar Hazard Obstacle Course

Powerpoint :

Powerpoint slide show on the virtual moonyard and vehicles.

Files for the Simulation

Click here to download the whole package including everything below:

Click here to view the PDF User guide.

Click here to download Lunar Hazard Obstacle Course Space.

Click here to download the current version of DSS for this space.

Click here to view the Album of still images of the Simulation

Lunar Hazard Obstacle Course Environment and Rovers	MSFC-APL-4wheel Rover in Lunar Hazard Obstacle Course	MSL Rover 1 in Lunar Hazard Obstacle Course
Athlete Rover in Lunar Hazard Obstacle Course	DARPA-6wheel Rover in Lunar Hazard Obstacle Course

Click here to download sampling of the moonyard photos.

See Also:

Surveyor Precursor Mission Concepts