GROVER
Solar-powered autonomous rover for Greenland ice sheet research.
GROVER, short for Goddard Remotely Operated Vehicle for Exploration and Research, is an autonomous rover designed by students and built for use on Earth. Developed at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, the solar-powered machine was created to collect data about the Greenland ice sheet at a lower cost than traditional methods. The region is experiencing rapid warming, making such information valuable.
The rover’s first test drive took place at Summit Camp in Greenland, atop an ice sheet three kilometers thick—the highest point on the world’s largest island. The science team, led by glaciologist Lora Koenig from Goddard, began the test on May 3, 2013, in temperatures as low as -30 °C, and continued until June 8, 2013.
Glaciologists hoped GROVER would use its ground-penetrating radar to reveal how snow accumulates layer by layer over time. Using humans, airplanes, or satellites to gather such data is more expensive, and the rover was expected to perform at least as well as human teams. It was also intended to measure new snow layers formed during the summer of 2012, when unusually high temperatures caused surface melting across 97 percent of the ice sheet.
A second rover, named Cool Robot, was planned for deployment in June 2013 to tow various instruments for glaciological measurements. GROVER’s solar panels are arranged in an A-frame configuration, allowing it to draw energy both directly from the Sun—which never sets during the Arctic summer—and from reflected sunlight. The rover operated where the ice sheet is two miles thick, following a preprogrammed route that required minimal operator interaction. Its radar could penetrate up to 20 meters, offering information about snow accumulation over the previous two decades.
Quick Facts
- Name
- GROVER (Goddard Remotely Operated Vehicle for Exploration and Research)
- Type
- Autonomous student-designed rover
- Developer
- Goddard Space Flight Center
- Test location
- Summit Camp, Greenland, on a three-kilometer-thick ice sheet
- Test period
- 3 May 2013 to 8 June 2013
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
GROVER was developed by the Goddard Space Flight Center as an Earth-bound autonomous rover designed by students. Its primary mission was to provide glaciologists with cheaper data about the Greenland ice sheet, which lies in a rapidly warming region. The rover used ground-penetrating radar to gather information about how snow accumulates layer by layer over time. The test drive began on 3 May 2013 at Summit Camp in Greenland, on a three-kilometer-thick ice sheet, the highest spot on the largest island in the world. Temperatures during the test were as low as -30 °C, and the test continued until 8 June 2013. The science team was led by glaciologist Lora Koenig from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. An accompanying rover named Cool Robot, intended to tow a variety of instruments for glaciological measurements, was also planned for deployment in June 2013. The solar panels of GROVER are arranged in an A-frame configuration so that it can get energy both directly from the Sun, which does not set during the Arctic summer, and from reflected sunlight. The rover operated at a location where the ice sheet is 2 miles thick. It used a preprogrammed route and required only minimal interactions from the operator. Radar penetration reached up to 20 m, providing information about snow accumulation over the previous 20 years.
Reader's Guide
GROVER's significance lies in its potential to reduce the cost of glaciological data collection in extreme environments. Using humans, airplanes, or satellites costs more than using rovers, and GROVER was expected to at least match the performance achieved by humans. The rover was intended to measure newly created layers that occurred in summer 2012, when higher-than-normal temperatures caused surface melting across 97 percent of the ice sheet. By operating autonomously on a preprogrammed route with minimal operator interaction, GROVER demonstrated a method for sustained data gathering in the Arctic. Its solar-powered design, with panels in an A-frame configuration, allowed it to harness both direct and reflected sunlight during the continuous daylight of the Arctic summer. The radar penetration of up to 20 m provided information about snow accumulation over the previous 20 years. The test at Summit Camp on a three-kilometer-thick ice sheet validated the concept of using a student-designed, solar-powered rover for polar research. The planned deployment of the accompanying Cool Robot further indicated an interest in expanding the use of rovers for towing a variety of glaciological instruments.
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