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Updated: Sep 15, 2025

WheelCon: A Wheel Control-Based Gaming Platform for Studying Human Sensorimotor Control
Published on: August 15, 2020
The WheelCams on the IDEFIX rover
Naomi Murdoch1, Valérian Lalucaa2, Cecily Sunday1,3
1ISAE-SUPAERO, Université de Toulouse, 10 Avenue Marc Pélegrin, 31055 Toulouse, France.
None:
IDEFIX, the Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) mission Phobos rover, will be the first of its kind to attempt wheeled-locomotion on a low-gravity surface. The IDEFIX WheelCams, two cameras placed on the underside of the rover looking at the rover wheels, provide a unique opportunity to study the surface properties of Phobos, regolith behaviour on small-bodies and rover mobility in low-gravity. The information gained about Phobos' surface will be of high importance to the landing and sampling operations of the main MMX spacecraft, in addition to being valuable for understanding the surface processes and geological history of Phobos. Here we introduce the WheelCam science objectives, the instrument and the characterisation activities. We also discuss the on-going preparations linked to the analysis and interpretation of the WheelCam images on the surface of Phobos.
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