Pink Lady in the Negev Desert, credit to OEWF/AMADEE20.
Exploring space is challenging, especially on a budget, but the challenge can bring innovations. For example, instead of robots landing on Mars under a controlled descent, they now bounce some of them, saving fuel and materials, devoting the weight to better things. If you want to learn more about landings on Mars, check out Nasa’s article on “How We Land on Mars”. ( https://science.nasa.gov/planetary-science/programs/mars-exploration/mission-timeline/how-we-land-on-mars/ )
After landing, the next question is how to explore the planet. Ever present-telescopes and satellites provide a lot of information, but to really get to know a planet, you need to get in the dirt. The first Mars landers stayed in place. Next came the wonderfully determined rovers. Most recently humans have added drones, little hovercraft, atmosphere permitting – which Mars does have, as our eyes on planets far away. (9/21/2023 Geeking Science: Drone Ingenuity) Earlier this year, I talked about the development of wormlike rovers to explore ice planets (2/20/2025 Geeking Science: EELS) and a variation on space RVing, taking the laboratory with you. (4/23/2025 Geeking Science: T is for Toyota RV Lunar Life)
The most recent innovation – blowing in the wind. The “rover” is a tumbleweed with minor control having a weight encouraging the device to roll one way or the other in the wind. Instead of rovers measuring progress in inches a day, or even yards with the wonderful Ingenuity, these sixteen-foot spheres may average 0.22 miles per hour. Scientists say under optimal conditions, a tumbleweed rover may cover as much as 1,740 miles. (Mendenhall) Although, the expectation is to average 250 miles in the 100 sol life expectency. To put this in perspective, hard-working Opportunity traveled 28.1 miles total (Beck).
Because of the small, light size of the design, the Tumbleweed Mission doesn’t plan to drop one or two rovers, but a swarm of ninety of them. (Kingsnorth) Some will be dropped randomly providing maps for future explorations and settlements. Some may be dropped in “hill country”, places where rovers can’t climb, but look like water has flowed. Plans are still being formed.
These designs have been in the works over fifteen years. (Discover) They have reached the concept testing point of wind tunnels and live tests (under Earth’s gravity and wind). Next trip out to Mars, funding permitting here in America or in one of the other National space agencies like EU or Japan or China, might scatter this wind-blown explorers.
Isn’t science amazing?
Bibliography
Beck, Kellen. “Every rover, rankled by distance traveled on the moon and Mars.” Mashable.com. 2021 August 14. https://mashable.com/article/moon-mars-rover-distance-driven – Last viewed 10/9/2025.
Cooper, Keith. “Tumbleweed-inspired Mars rovers could be blown across the Red Planet.” Space.com. 2025 September 30. https://www.space.com/space-exploration/mars-rovers/tumbleweed-inspired-mars-rovers-could-be-blown-across-the-red-planet – Last viewed 10/9/2025.
Discover. “Tumbleweed Rovers Could Explore Mars.” 2010-ish (says 15 years ago). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1JQyPKLCYPQ – Last viewed 10/9/2025.
Europlanet. “Press Release: Tumbleweed Rover Tests Demonstrate Transformative Technology for Low-Cost Mars Exploration.” https://www.europlanet.org/epsc-dps2025-tumbleweed-rover-tests-demonstrate-transformative-technology-for-low-cost-mars-exploration/ – Last viewed 10/9/2025.
JPL. “Tumbleweed Rover Concept for in situ Martian Exploration.” Nasa.gov. (undated) https://www-robotics.jpl.nasa.gov/what-we-do/research-tasks/tumbleweed-rover-concept-for-in-situ-martian-exploration/ – Last viewed 10/9/2025.
Kingsnorth, James, et. al. “A Swarm of Wind-Driven Tumbleweed Rovers for in-situ Mapping of Radiation, Water‑Equivalent Hydrogen and Magnetic Fields on Mars.” Europlanet – Division for Planetary Sciences. https://meetingorganizer.copernicus.org/EPSC-DPS2025/EPSC-DPS2025-1779.html – Last viewed 10/9/2025.
Mendenhall, Brooks. “The wind-driven future of Mars exploration.” MSN.com. 2o25 October. https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/the-wind-driven-future-of-mars-exploration/ar-AA1NOXYu – Last viewed 10/9/2025.
Nasa. “How We Land On Mars.” Nasa.gov. undated (likely updated after each new landing on Mars). https://science.nasa.gov/planetary-science/programs/mars-exploration/mission-timeline/how-we-land-on-mars/ – Last viewed 10/9/2025.
Team Tumbleweed. “The Next Generation of Mars Exploration.” Website. https://www.teamtumbleweed.eu/mars/ – Last viewed 10/9/2025.