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Every planetary rover is an incredible feat of scientific and technical achievement, but how would they fare in @BattleBots-style combat? To answer that question, I& #39;ve established a Rover Combat Power Ranking! THE BOX IS LOCKED, THE LIGHTS ARE ON, IT& #39;S ROVER FIGHTING TIME!
#7: Sojourner. The first rover on Mars, but OG status is worthless in the Battlebox. Other rovers are 10-100x heavier. SoJo& #39;s speed tops out at 0.036 km/hr. It has some offensive ability with its alpha particle beam, but what can funny helium atoms really do to a combat robot?
#6: Yutu. Recently, China has been establishing itself as a major global player in both robotic combat and lunar exploration. Unfortunately, that doesn& #39;t translate to rover combat. Yutu is undersized, poorly armed, and unreliable in mobility. Underwhelming in all three phases.
#5: Yutu-2. Here& #39;s a case where the sequel outperforms the original. The size and weaponry is the same as Yutu, but its mobility and reliability is much improved. A solidly-constructed bot that might not wow with offense, but can outlast B-tier opponents with a bit of luck.
#4: Lunokhod 1. A THICC Russian robot. Essentially a huge metal bathtub on wheels, armed with a laser. Its sheer size spells trouble for smaller opponents, but it might have trouble taking on someone its own size due to its light armament. Perennial Sportsman-Class contender.
#3: Curiosity. Heaviest rover in the field (900 kg!), and equipped with the best weapons (percussive drill and rotary wire brush mounted on a 2.1 m boom arm). A real contender with massive offensive damage potential, but ultimately held back by its glacial top speed of 0.09 km/h.
#2: Lunokhod 2. This thing is a muscle car. Compact and powerful. Retaining Lunokhod 1& #39;s metal bathtub design, it is 0.6 m shorter, but 84 kg heavier. Blazing top speed of 2 km/h, >20x faster than Curiosity. Its 2.5 m boom arm dishes damage while keeping opponents at bay. Stronk.
#1: Spirit/Opportunity. Multibot alert! Individually not the biggest or fastest, but each packs a punch with cleated front wheels and 3000 RPM diamond dust disks. Just when you think you have one cornered, the other swoops in and nips off a wheel. And, they& #39;re basically immortal.
That& #39;s a wrap! Congrats to Spirit and Opportunity, the rover squad taking down all others in the Battlebox. Shoutout to @kmcannon for the idea for this thread. This season& #39;s @BattleBots tournament has been cancelled due to COVID-19, but maybe NASA will have an entry next season?
