CADRE Rover Gets a Big Shake

A small Moon-bound rover is clamped to a special "shaker table" that vibrates intensely to make sure the hardware will survive the jarring rocket ride out of Earth's atmosphere. This is one of three rovers – each about the size of a carry-on suitcase – that are part of NASA's CADRE (Cooperative Autonomous Distributed Robotic Exploration) technology demonstration. This vibration testing took place in November 2023 at a National Technical Systems test facility in Santa Clarita, California. In the video, the rover is shaken in two directions – first along the "z" axis and then the "x" axis. Another test, not shown, subjected the rover to a "y" axis vibration test. CADRE is designed to show that a group of robotic spacecraft can work together as a team to accomplish tasks and record data autonomously &ndash without explicit commands from mission controllers on Earth. The three small rovers will ride aboard a lunar lander that will carry the project's base station and camera assembly. Video available at https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA26167