Meet Lunar Zebro, the smallest and lightest Moon rover, no bigger than a sheet of paper

A team of engineers from Europe has proposed a new rover concept that could surpass the challenges faced by traditional rovers during planetary exploration. Named Lunar Zebro, this unique rover has been developed by a student team from the Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands to explore terrains, particularly on the Moon, that otherwise would be risky for wheeled rovers.

Not conforming to traditional ideas, the Lunar Zebro has six C-shaped legs instead of wheels which enable it for unique locomotion. What's more, is that the rover weighs just 2.5 kg and takes the same areas as an A4 sheet of paper.

More about the rover

A prototype of the rover was recently taken for tests in a real-world environment where the engineers tested its ability to crawl through obstacles. "The most unique feature of the Zebro is its locomotion, of course, which is done using C-shaped legs...which enable the rover to traverse difficult terrains without getting stuck", Simon J. Stenger, the project's chief engineer said in a demonstration video shared by the European Space Agency (ESA). 

The engineers believe that the Lunar Zebro will be ideal for the tough and dangerous terrain of the Moon as the rover could climb over much taller obstacles than its wheeled counterparts. According to Lunar Zebro's official website, the lightweight rover will be launched to the Moon with another primary rover no earlier than 2023 for a technology demonstration mission that would last 14 Earth days (one lunar day).

The mission profile says that the main objective would be to survive the harsh conditions for one lunar day and communicate its location and health directly back to Earth. During the said time period, the Lunar Zebro would traverse through the lunar surface while avoiding craters before entering hibernation mode to face the -233°C lunar night at the end of the day. 

However, the University team's ultimate plan for the exploration of the Moon is to deliver an insect-like swarm of such rovers to the lunar surface. The size of these rovers is another advantage as they could be deployed in large numbers to carry out tasks too risky for expensive rovers. If launched successfully, the Lunar Zebro would be the first rover delivered by Europe to the Moon.