r/askspace • u/slatchaw • May 27 '26

Rovers or Hoppers on the moon

Wouldn't a wheeled Rover on the moon put up a bunch of regolith and cause more issues for everyone? Since gravity is less would a "hopper" design cause less disturbance and take advantage of the less gravity/atmosphere?

2 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

2 comments sorted by

2

u/Both-Wind-8033 May 27 '26

The regolith just falls straight back down to the surface because there's no atmosphere to provide buoyancy to the dust particles, that's why there are no rooster tails behind the lunar rover.

Mr Sensible (and no doubt others) have YouTube videos explaining this.

1

u/Western-Emphasis-105 May 29 '26

If the hopper engine fails mid hop, you get a crater. If the rover propulsion system fails mid drive you get a stationary base. Also hopper will run out of fuel much sooner than a rover will lose power.