This Mars rover’s cool. But have you seen its wheels?

Apologies to residents of Stevenage for that introduction! The next episode's on Nebula right now, and it's about flying a plane badly on purpose: https://nebula.tv/videos/tomscott-flying-a-plane-badly-on-purpose

It's like Tom has never seen spring wheels before. They've literally existed for decades.

21:20 I can confirm, Jet Lag is the best game show in the world being made right now.

I love every Episode Tom. I love how you ask, not only what maybe a daft question, but how you ask it.
Again…I'm soooo glad you came back to YouTube after your Break, I know this is now many Episodes in, but still. Thank You Tom…& I'm sure I'm not alone in thinking such! You are fantastic ❤

8:40 space is so hostile to circuitry – thermal cycles, radiation and vacuum can even make metal start growing (tin whiskers)

they're gonna put nuts on it next

14:04. they are using a steam deck for that? 😂

0:24 easy there Gollum 😂

It's perhaps worth mentioning that one of the earlier Mars rovers (it was either Spirit or Opportunity, but I don't recall exactly which) had rigid wheels with a tread pattern that included this :
•— •–• •-••
which is Morse code for JPL, which is where the rover was built. So its tracks on Mars had "JPL" written in Morse code once every wheel revolution.

This is an extremely geeky detail that I just loved. So I'm totally here for Tom geeking out over the design of the rover's wheels.

13:25 🦜"MET-uhl!"

Too think you would go to mars in brand new trainers 🤦

Ironically, "that's gripping" applies not just to one wheel, but the whole subject of the video.

cusper the friendly ghost makes me giggle

Never understood why the sample rover would drop them just to be picked up again by another one retracing its steps. Why not just store them all in a pick up container that can be retrieved in one go? I’d love to know the logic behind that choice.

Just so you know, you got a glowing endorsement from Adam Savage in the newest tested Q&A video, for your presenting style and enthusiasm.

13:47 well, it hasn't as much grip – it's just the other 5 wheels grippign on sand mostly

One interesting problem they won't have to deal with on these slower vehicles, with will if they can make faster ones, is the disconnect between weight and mass (and, therefore, inertia) under different gravity.

The force with which the rover is pushed against the surface will be decreased, but the momentum of it moving, stopping, turning, falling, etc will be just as much as it would on Earth.

I have no idea how they'd test for that. It's a good engineering challenge