Word: lunokhod
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...week showed an awkward, eight-wheeled contraption that looked somewhat like the top half of a huge samovar. But what the outlandish vehicle lacked in styling, it more than made up for in performance. Three hours after reaching the moon aboard the latest unmanned Russian moon probe, Luna 17, Lunokhod I (literally "moonwalker") lumbered down one of two ramps extended by the mother ship and moved forward under the direct control of TV monitors on earth-thus taking the first giant step for robotkind on another celestial body...
...Lunokhod is powered by solar cells that are apparently charged when it opens its clamlike lid to sunlight. One or more electric motors drive each of the eight spoked wheels independently. Like a remote-controlled toy car, it is steered by radio signals from earth, where monitors are able to see the terrain in front, behind and to the side of the rover in pictures transmitted from onboard TV cameras. To avert disabling accidents, Lunokhod has a number of safety features. It can, for instance, shut itself off if it begins to list dangerously, or if one of its wheels...
Lunar Mapping. One thing Lunokhod cannot do is come back to earth. Even though it was built of extremely light materials, its undisclosed weight is apparently too great for the lift-off capability of Luna 17. In that respect, Lunokhod resembles NASA's own lunar rover,* which will be carried to the moon by Apollo...
...third day, Lunokhod had moved confidently across at least 600 ft. of lunar soil, turned to photograph the mother ship, climbed up an incline and crossed a small crater. The robot also displayed impressive scientific skills. Like Luna 16, it carries a device to gouge out samples of lunar soil. It also has the capacity to analyze samples -with an onboard X-ray spectrometer -and report the findings to earth. In addition, it can detect cosmic rays, stomp on the ground to test its rigidity and-speculates Heinz Kaminski of West Germany's Bochum Observatory, where the radio transmissions...