Hopping transporters for lunar exploration.

Proposed manned lunar roving and flying mobility systems are severely limited in speed and/or pay load capabilities. Recently, a hopping transporter design concept was introduced which could offer conservative use of fuel and high average speed. As a first step toward practical application of such devices, an investigation of feasibility, with respect to performance capabilities, was carried out. Results were obtained by studying dynamic characteristics of somewhat idealized hopping vehicle configurations. Two schematic designs were investigated. One is a single-man device assumed to be of minimum complexity and mass, transportable with Apollo crews. The other design is a multiman transporter capable of making long-range and duration explorations of the lunar surface. Influencing factors affecting vehicle design and operation are considered and hop performance calculations discussed. Results indicate that hopping transporters may provide excellent performance for lunar exploration missions.