A robot made out of old bicycle parts is to be tested in the Canadian Arctic
in July as a prototype for a new breed of Sun-worshipping Mars rovers. If it is
successful, Hyperion, a 3-metre-tall solar cell on wheels developed at Carnegie
Mellon University in Pittsburgh, will attempt to stay active on Mars 24 hours a
day. To do so it will circumnavigate the planet. At mid-latitudes this would
involve impossible speeds, but Hyperion will travel at polar latitudes where a
relatively modest speed will keep it in sunshine.
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