Wind-driven tumbleweed rovers could roll up to 1,740 miles on Mars

European researchers have developed a novel concept for Mars exploration using wind-driven “Tumbleweed” rovers—lightweight, spherical robots up to five meters in diameter designed to be propelled across the Martian surface by winds. Inspired by natural tumbleweeds, these rovers carry scientific instruments within their cores and can traverse diverse terrains, including sand, pebbles, rough ground, and slopes equivalent to 30 degrees on Mars. Initial field tests with a 2.7-meter prototype in a Dutch quarry and wind tunnel experiments simulating Martian atmospheric conditions demonstrated that these rovers can maintain sensor functionality while rolling and can be mobilized by wind speeds typical on Mars. The experiments validated fluid dynamics models predicting rover movement and confirmed the feasibility of using swarms of these rovers for low-cost, wide-ranging planetary exploration. Data suggest a single Tumbleweed rover could travel approximately 262 miles in 100 Martian sols at an average speed of 0.22 mph, with potential maximum distances up