According to China Daily, China has created more than 10 lunar rovers able to move, collect and analyze samples on the moon. We have tested many rover concepts, too. Here is our newest creation -- The Mosquito Rover -- just taking a sunbath on the roof garden of our laboratory: The Mosquito Rover, like our Hybrid Rover, has the ability to fire off a second smaller vehicle with a mosquito-like shape -- hence the name -- in the event that the main rover becomes stuck in the lunar regolith or suffers a failure for other reasons and cannot travel the 500 meters required under the GLXP competition rules. The cannon has an internal fuel generator which breaks down the stored water solution into hydrogen and oxygen gases by electrolysis -- powered by a photovoltaic array. The hydrogen and oxygen gases collect in the upper chamber of the cannon until there is enough for a launch to proceed. The fuel generator needs about 20 minutes to generate enough oxyhydrogen for a launch. To ensure success, a special spark generator ignites the oxyhydrogen. The expanding gases from the ignition of the oxyhydrogen thrusts the second vehicle into its trajectory. The Rover can automatically adjust the cannon to the proper inclination via a servo motor based on the inclination of the Rover itself. This is done in order to obtain the maximum trajectory length. A second servo adjusts the inclination angle of the photovoltaic array. Should the Rover find itself in an area which is too dark, the photovoltaic array will set itself automatically at an angle of 45º. If the light yield is still too low, the Rover will proceed on to a more suitable location. Specifications -- Weight: 800 g Dimensions: 300 x 150 x 300 mm (l x w x h) Actuators / output devices: Spark generator, Oxyhydrogen cannon, 3 Control LEDs, 2 Gear motors, Servo for Sharp IR, Servo for photovoltaic array, Servo for cannon, Loudspeaker Sensors / input devices: Sharp IR, LDR, 2 Push buttons, 1-degree-inclination sensor Control method: Autonomous CPU: Picaxe 28x1 and 08M Motor control: Darlington transistor h-bridge Power source: 4x1.5V AA, 4.8V / 700 mAh / NiCd, Photovoltaic array 5.5V / 90 mA Electrolyte: 5 ml CH3COOH, 30% Electrode material: Graphite