Meet NASA’s DuAxel: a flexible robot that can travel long distances and rappel down hard to reach areas. It has two Axel robots to explore craters, pits, and other extreme terrain. The robot can split in two to get the job done. It can send one of its halves over inaccessible slopes, supported by a tether to provide power.
As JPL explains:
The rappelling Axel can then autonomously seek out areas to study, safely overcome slopes and rocky obstacles, and then return to dock with its other half before driving to another destination.
[HT]