NASA has shown off a new rover prototype, Ernest, that it says could change how future lunar and Mars missions move across difficult terrain. The vehicle was recently tested in the Colorado desert as part of the agency’s push to develop next-generation exploration technologies for the Moon and Mars.
Unlike today’s six-wheeled Mars rovers, Ernest has four wheels and is about 1.2 meters long, though NASA says an operational version would likely be twice as large. Its standout feature is that each wheel can be raised independently, allowing it to step over obstacles instead of detouring around rocks, sand, or steep slopes.
In its latest test series, Ernest drove for more than 37 hours over seven days and covered about 16 miles. It reached a top speed of roughly 0.6 miles per hour, far faster than Perseverance’s top speed of less than 0.1 miles per hour on flat ground.
NASA says the improvement comes from a new suspension system. While earlier rovers used a passive rocker-bogie design, Ernest combines passive and active suspension, with two motorized front joints that let it crawl, “walk on wheels,” and climb obstacles. All four wheels are steerable, and the system can switch between active and passive modes depending on the mission and power needs. The project began in 2022, and the team has tested nearly a dozen suspension configurations. The goal is to build rovers that can cover larger areas, reach more complex destinations, and rely less on commands from Earth.
