Complex and unknown terrains in deep space exploration present great challenges to existing exploration robots. In this paper, a multi-mode motion spherical robot with flexible motion and strong environmental adaptability is presented. The spherical robot can roll and jump by swinging the pendulum and rotating the 2-DOF frame. The structure design of spherical robot is described, and the feasibility of multi-mode motion is analyzed by establishing dynamic model and testing robot prototype. In addition, the adaptability of the spherical robot motion mechanism in microgravity environment is preliminarily verified. The results of this analysis and test could be provided with reference for the future research of deep space exploration robots.

Complex and unknown areas in deep space exploration present major challenges to the motion ability of current space robots. Different from the traditional single-mode motion space robot, a compound motion robot with flexible movement and strong obstacle surmounting ability is proposed. Through the highly integrated structure design, the lightweight robot has the ability of rolling and jumping, and the kinematic characteristics of the robot under two motion modes are analyzed. This work provides a reference for the design of deep space exploration equipment with high motion capability in the future.

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