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Updated: Feb 23, 2026

Mimicking a Space Mission to Mars Using Hindlimb Unloading and Partial Weight Bearing in Rats
Published on: April 4, 2019
Note: Planetary gravities made simple: Sample test of a Mars rover wheel
G Viera-López1, A Serrano-Muñoz1, J Amigó-Vega1
1Group of Complex Systems and Statistical Physics, Physics Faculty, University of Havana, 10400 Havana, Cuba.
Abstract:
We introduce an instrument for a wide spectrum of experiments on gravities other than our planet's. It is based on a large Atwood machine where one of the loads is a bucket equipped with a single board computer and different sensors. The computer is able to detect the falling (or rising) and then the stabilization of the effective gravity and to trigger actuators depending on the experiment. Gravities within the range 0.4 g-1.2 g are easily achieved with acceleration noise of the order of 0.01 g. Under Martian gravity, we are able to perform experiments of approximately 1.5 s duration. The system includes features such as WiFi and a web interface with tools for the setup, monitoring, and data analysis of the experiment. We briefly show a case study in testing the performance of a model Mars rover wheel in low gravities.
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