A Review of Sampling Exploration and Devices for Extraterrestrial Celestial Bodies

“…The United Arab Emirates is sending the ‘Rashid’ rover to the moon [ 6 ]. Mars surface exploration currently mainly comprises investigations of the surface geology and geomorphology [ 7 ], study of mineralogy and chemistry of key material units at the landing sites through sample acquisition and analysis [ 8 ], and instrument deployment. In the future, infrastructure construction in support of human exploration is expected to constitute another group of tasks.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Development of a Lizard-Inspired Robot for Mars Surface Exploration

Chen

Qiao²,

Zhou³

et al. 2023

Biomimetics

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Exploring Mars is beneficial to increasing our knowledge, understanding the possibility of ancient microbial life there, and discovering new resources beyond the Earth to prepare for future human missions to Mars. To assist ambitious uncrewed missions to Mars, specific types of planetary rovers have been developed for performing tasks on Mars’ surface. Due to the fact that the surface is composed of granular soils and rocks of various sizes, contemporary rovers can have difficulties in moving on soft soils and climbing over rocks. To overcome such difficulties, this research develops a quadruped creeping robot inspired by the locomotion characteristics of the desert lizard. This biomimetic robot features a flexible spine, which allows swinging movements during locomotion. The leg structure utilizes a four-linkage mechanism, which ensures a steady lifting motion. The foot consists of an active ankle and a round pad with four flexible toes that are effective in grasping soils and rocks. To determine robot motions, kinematic models relating to foot, leg, and spine are established. Moreover, the coordinated motions between the trunk spine and leg are numerically verified. In addition, the mobility on granular soils and rocky surface are experimentally demonstrated, which can imply that this biomimetic robot is suitable for Mars surface terrains.

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“…In Apollo15, Apollo16, and Apollo17 missions, the Apollo Lunar Surface Drill (ALSD) was used for sampling. The drilling depth reached 3.05 m in the Apollo 17 mission, which is the deepest depth ever drilled for lunar sampling [19,20]. Chen Huazhi et al developed a high-frequency impact coring device based on the unidirectional flow effect of particles, which can realize the unidirectional transport effect of particles under vibration conditions and better maintain the stratification of lunar regolith [21,22].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Design of Man-Machine Synergic Lunar Coring Device and Its Coring Dynamic Analysis

Zhang

Gao

et al. 2023

Applied Sciences

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The Moon is the closest extraterrestrial celestial body to the Earth. Sampling and analysis of lunar regolith or rocks can pave the way for the development and utilization of lunar resources. The acquisition of lunar regolith samples with original stratigraphic information by astronauts on the lunar surface is one of the essential missions in the manned lunar landing project. Therefore, to maintain the original stratigraphic information of the lunar samples during the sampling process while further improving the coring rate and sampling depth, a handheld dual-mode lunar regolith coring device is proposed in this paper. The device innovatively combines impact penetration and rotary drilling sampling, which allows the selection of a suitable sampling method according to the environment. In addition, this study designs a synergic coring device that can be operated by the astronaut and carried on the lander or rover based on the handheld coring device, which can ensure safe and stable coring mission. The mechanical analysis is carried out for the key properties in the coring device, the corresponding mechanical model is established, the structural parameters are optimally designed, and the performance analysis is carried out accordingly. Finally, the impact and drilling process of the coring device is simulated in explicit dynamics, and the results show that the optimized impact module can effectively penetrate the lunar rocks. The research work will provide technical reference and theoretical support for the design of human–machine synergic coring devices in manned lunar exploration missions.

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A Review of Sampling Exploration and Devices for Extraterrestrial Celestial Bodies

Cited by 16 publications

References 144 publications

Fidelity Performance Research of Coring Bits during Drilling and Cutting in Deep Extreme Environments

Fidelity Performance Research of Coring Bits during Drilling and Cutting in Deep Extreme Environments

Development of a Lizard-Inspired Robot for Mars Surface Exploration

Design of Man-Machine Synergic Lunar Coring Device and Its Coring Dynamic Analysis

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