Watch Chinese researchers test new Mars and lunar rover technology (video)

Researchers from universities across China are testing their designs for rovers to explore the Moon and Mars.

Prototype vehicles are being installed in a laboratory at Jilin University in northeast China to undergo tests in simulated moon Regolith and Mars Floor.

Among the vehicles undergoing test drives is a four-wheeled rover that can traverse soft Martian soil and overcome obstacles over 20 centimeters high.

“We are here to test the interaction between the small wheels and the lunar soil. Our goal is to take the rover further and improve its performance on the lunar surface,” Zhang Rui, a professor at the School of Biological and Agricultural Engineering at Jilin University, told state broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV).