Solar-Powered Rover to Study Greenland Ice Sheet with Ground-Penetrating Radar
NASA's newest scientific rover, GROVER, will be tested May 3 through June 8 at the Summit Camp in Greenland, a research station sitting on a two-mile thick sheet of ice. GROVER stands for both Greenland Rover and Goddard Remotely Operated Vehicle for Exploration and Research. The autonomous, solar-powered robot will roam the landscape collecting measurements to help scientists better understand changes in the massive ice sheet. The solar panels are mounted in an inverted V, allowing them to collect energy from the sun and sunlight reflected off the ice sheet. GROVER carries a ground-penetrating radar powered by two rechargeable batteries. The radar sends radio wave pulses into the ice sheet, and the waves bounce off buried features, informing researchers about the characteristics of the snow and ice layers.