Trapped by moon dust: The physics error that fooled NASA for years

Engineers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison uncovered a critical flaw in how lunar and Martian rovers are tested on Earth. Simulations revealed that test results have been misleading for decades because researchers only adjusted rover weight to simulate low gravity—but ignored how Earth’s gravity affects the terrain itself. Using a powerful simulation tool called Chrono, the team showed that sandy surfaces behave very differently on the Moon, where they’re fluffier and less supportive.