At the beginning of 2022, by the State Key Laboratory of Robotics and Systems of Harbin Institute of Technology, Beijing Aerospace Control Center, State Key Laboratory of Remote Sensing Science of the Institute of Aeronautical and Astronautical Information, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China Academy of Space Technology, Ryerson University in Canada, etc. The unit cooperated and published the title of “A 2-year locomotive exploration and scientific investigation of the lunar farside by the Yutu-2 rover” in the internationally renowned academic journal Science Robotics. Explore)" cover paper.
The team estimated the mechanical properties of the lunar soil based on the information on the interaction between the lunar rover wheel and the lunar surface and the ground mechanical model. The results show that the pressure-bearing properties of the lunar soil regolith are similar to the dry sand and sandy loam on the earth, and are similar to those in the American Apollo program. Compared with typical lunar soil, it has stronger pressure bearing characteristics.
Large lumps of soil were observed adhering to the wheels of "Yutu 2" in images from different locations, while there was basically no clay phenomenon on the wheels of "Jade Rabbit", indicating that the lunar soil cohesion near the landing area of Chang'e 4 is relatively large , the reason may be that it contains a higher proportion of aggregates, which makes soil particles more likely to agglomerate after wheel rolling.
The research is based on my country's lunar exploration missions and faces engineering scientific issues. The relevant results can provide theoretical and technical support for future lunar exploration missions.
This research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (51822502, 91948202, 41771488), the National Key Research and Development Program (2019YFB1309500), and the "111" Innovation and Talent Introducing Program (BP0719002).
The link to the original publication of the results: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/scirobotics.abj6660
At present, Chang'e-4 is on the 41st night of the moon. The lunar rover has a mileage of 1,142.39 meters, and the two devices and one star are in good condition.