On Tue, 10 Feb 2004 20:51:30 -0800, "lane"
lane_nospam@copperaccents_dot_com wrote:


"Loren Coe" wrote in message
. com...
was watching NASA a couple of days ago w/the sound off, it
looked like they were machining the current Mars rover wheels,
out of a _single_ piece of metal.

after turning the sound on, it was a little late to get any verbal
confirmation but it does seem likely. further, the wheel and tred
are part of the single piece, along with the hub.

the rest of the assembly is the "inner-tube", something molded into
the metal housing. is _that_ what i saw? Thanks! --Loren

ps, if yes, talk about _custom_wheels_(!), yowser!!


From: http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/spotlight/wheels01.html

"Next Intent, a company in San Luis Obispo, California that specializes in
machining complex shapes, manufactured the wheels. The overall wheel design
allowed them to machine each wheel from one piece (or billet) of aluminum."

There is an interesting video on the wheel design on this page. Look for
"Wheels in the Sky".
http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/galle.../hardware.html


Lane

Thanks, so I had guessed right. Its a shame how they don't cover this
in the newspaper. Last "article" just showed a picture looking back
at the lander and the parachute and that was it , no write up nothing
and on page 20. Two robots on a different planet and no one seems to
care... Loren, did the filters work?