<i>Axel The Rover</i>

Axel, a research prototype rover for exploring the Moon, Mars and other planets, crawls over large rocks as engineers from Jet Propulsion (JPL) and grad students from Caltech (California Institute of Technology) demonstrate its mobile over the steep and rocky grounds of the JPL Mars Yard on January 14, 2009 in Pasadena, California. The rover is capable of descending cliffs or into craters and returning by a cable tethered to its starting point. Photo: AFP