Running on the beach versus a paved road can change an athlete's stride, speed and stability. Alter the force of gravity, and that runner may break their personal record or sink into the ground. Researchers have to consider such parameters when designing extraterrestrial rovers and landers—which can trawl where no person has stepped foot.
To better inform this work, a multi-institutional team analyzed the flow of simulated regolith, a type of fragmental debris that covers the moon and rocky planets, using an artificial gravity generator on the International Space Station.
They published their work in npj Microgravity.
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