NASA is testing a rover that can drive faster and lift its wheels to climb obstacles - Engadget

NASA is testing a rover designed to move faster and lift its wheels to clear obstacles, a capability that could broaden future planetary exploration. The Ernest prototype, tested in the Colorado Desert, builds on the pace-limited rovers like Perseverance, which tops out under 0.1 mph on flat ground. Ernest has four wheels and measures four feet in length, with a future mission version expected to be about twice that size. In recent desert trials, the prototype logged over 37 hours of operation across seven days, covering roughly 16 miles and reaching about 0.6 mph.

Unlike the passive rocker-bogie suspension of earlier Mars rovers, Ernest uses an active system with two powered front joints that articulate a gimbal, enabling gaits such as squirming, wheel-walking and obstacle climbing. Four steerable wheels allow motion in any direction, and the rover can switch between active and passive suspension to balance mobility and energy use. NASA has advanced Ernest through multiple iterations since 2022, testing roughly a dozen configurations and incorporating enhanced independent decision-making. The goal is to extend range and speed while reducing reliance on human controllers on Earth for future Mars and Moon missions.