MARS expedition Hummer

[scottytheoneandonly]

I hope I'm not duplicating another thread with this one. I looked around but didn't see anything. I thought this would interest everybody.

An international team of scientists has launched an expedition to drive the Northwest Passage on sea-ice this spring, marking the first time the Passage has ever been travelled in a road vehicle.

The 2,000 kilometre trek will be undertaken in the Mars Institute's new Moon-1 Humvee Rover, an all-terrain exploration rover derived from the vehicle commonly used in the military.

I can't imagine "driving" the Northwest Passage! :Wow1:

Their new rig

Their old rig

 

[milo12]

That seems like a very cool adventure (pun intended). One thing that surprises me is how small the tires are. Ice trucks in Iceland have huge wide flotation tires. Maybe the surface is frozen so hard they don't need flotation.

Here is a link to examples. http://www.4x4offroads.com/4x4-trucks-iceland.html

 

[Zorro]

Anyone know them? Are they looking for a talented photographer ready to freeze along?

I'm not sure how that new H1 is better than the previous one with mattracks on though ...

 

[6Pins]

Interesting, especially since I just read an article about how the Northwest Passage was navigable by boat for the first time last year due to thinning of the ice.

 

[paulj]

Update on this
http://www.marsonearth.org/2009/04/northwest_passage_drive_expedi.html

The crew and the truck will be flown by C130 to the Arctic coast within the next few days.

Just like the skiing team on another thread, they will be measuring ice thickness.

The team will be measuring the thickness of sea-ice along the entire length of the Northwest Passage. The unique set of measurements will be key to understanding current and future effects of climate change throughout the Arctic.

Regarding the tires, they are switching to tracks in Yellowknife
http://www.flickr.com/photos/hmpresearchstation/3404288087/in/set-72157616139507681/

 

[98roamer]

a view inside the old one.

 

[johnnyrover]

Regarding the tires, they are switching to tracks in Yellowknife
http://www.flickr.com/photos/hmpresearchstation/3404288087/in/set-72157616139507681/

I would think the tracks would really tear up the tundra they will be driving through...Big balloons at all four corners would seem a better approach.

 

[paulj]

Maybe they'll keep both on hand; tracks for the ice and snow; tires for summer. If they are trying to simulate Mars, they may have chosen an area that was dry and gravelly, rather than soft tundra. Is that picture of the old one taken at the northern site?