Four major configurations of CASPER were tested during the course of this research. The parameters of each configuration and their physical layout, rotation directions, and wake images are shown in Figure \ref{264239}. Each configuration had a unique combination of front pontoon width (narrow or wide), and the direction in which material was churned by the front pontoons (inward or outward). Configurations C1 and C2 (pictured in Figure \ref{264239}) have pontoon mounts that create a 145 mm separation between the centers of the front pontoons, while the C3 and C4 configurations have a narrow set of pontoon mounts that create 105 mm of separation. Furthermore, the even configurations C2 and C4 have front pontoon handedness and rotation direction opposite of the rear screws, which causes the material to be churned inward by the front pontoons. This "inward churning'' creates a wake of loosely compacted material that is elevated with respect to the undisturbed sand, which enables the ramp to easily scoop the material in discrete amounts. Conversely, the odd configurations C1 and C3 have identical screw handedness and rotation direction as the rear pontoons, which causes the material to be churned outward and away from the central ramp. For each configuration, the power, velocity, and excavation rate of the craft were investigated over a range of each of the following independent variables:
    It should be noted that the 0 degree ramp angle and 0 second load time cases act as the control group for the mobility power and velocity. This is because during these specific runs, the ramp was disabled in the upright stowed position, so the power and velocity were unaffected by reaction forces due to the ramp excavation. 
    The purpose of these experiments is to determine what effect, if any, the material churn direction and front pontoon width have upon the power consumption, velocity, and excavation rate of the craft across a wide variety of screw angular velocities, load times, and ramp angles.