Scarab (rover)

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{{about|the lunar rover|other uses|Scarab (disambiguation)}}

Image:Scarab Lunar Rover.jpg

Scarab is a 2010 robotic lunar rover prototype designed to assist astronauts take rock and mineral samples.{{cite web

|title=NASA Day on the Hill

|date=20 January 2016

|publisher=NASA

|url=http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/imagegallery/image_feature_1696.html

}}{{cite web

|title=Snakes, Rovers and Googly Eyes: New Robot Masters Take Many Forms

|date=2008-04-04

|publisher=Wired

|url= https://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2008/04/snakes-rovers-a/}} Scarab is capable of autonomously traversing in dark polar craters using laser mapping to navigate and carries a science payload. The science payload is capable of taking a core sample from 1 m depth and analyzing it for water and gasses, and also has an 80 cm bucket wheel for collecting lunar samples. The rover has a mass of 312 kg. {{cite journal|last1=Skonieczny|first1=K.|last2=Wettergreen|first2=D. S.|last3=Whittaker|first3=W. L. "Red"|title=Advantages of continuous excavation in lightweight planetary robotic operations|journal=International Journal of Robotics Research|date=25 January 2016|volume=35|issue=9|pages=1121–1139|doi=10.1177/0278364915615689|s2cid=29393461 }} Scarab will also be used to test varying mobility techniques and lunar wheels. It is being developed by the Robotics Institute of Carnegie Mellon University, with support by NASA.