Instead of designing another traditional wheel, researchers studied the sandfish lizard (Scincus scincus), a small reptile that lives in the Sahara Desert. When danger appears, this lizard dives beneath the sand and “swims” through it by creating wave-like movements with its body. This allows it to move quickly through loose sand without relying on normal walking. Engineers at the University of Würzburg, together with researchers from the University of Bremen and the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI), used this natural movement as inspiration for a new Mars rover prototype. Unlike normal rover wheels that simply roll, these new wheels move in a way that mimics the sandfish’s interaction with loose sand. The motion creates both forward and sideways forces, helping the rover travel more smoothly across soft terrain. During testing, the rover even left wave-shaped tracks in the sand, showing that the swimming-inspired movement was working as intended. This matters because loose sand has been one of the biggest challenges for Mars rovers. Traditional wheels can slip, sink, or lose traction on soft ground. The research team found that making the wheels lighter and wider reduced ground pressure, improved stability, and reduced slipping during their experiments. The prototype is still being improved and is not planned for an upcoming Mars mission yet. However, the technology is part of Germany’s VaMEx (Valles Marineris Explorer) research program, which develops new technologies for exploring some of the most difficult landscapes on Mars. Sometimes the best engineering ideas don’t come from machines—they come from millions of years of evolution. Nature has already solved problems that engineers are only beginning to understand. - @thelunarlogic