Analysis of the lunar regolith sample obstruction in the Chang’E-5 drill and its improvement

Liang, Jieneng; Tao, Lijun; Zhang, Weiwei; Tang, Junyue; Pang, Yong

doi:10.1016/j.asr.2021.12.004

Cited by 15 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…Based on the pre-flight ground test [3,5,21] and the FDTD modeling result in this study, we believe that the positions of these rocky regions are retrieved well in the radar image. Our analyses, combined with the studies from Liang et al [16], reveal that the drill penetrated two aggregate fragment regions at ~30 cm and ~70 cm depths, and a rock fragment from the region at 70 cm depth might have obstructed the drill and terminate the drilling and coring process.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 58%

“…The landscape photographed by the lander's panoramic camera also illustrates that the lunar surface near the landing site is strewn with many small rocks (Figure 7). According to Liang et al [16], the drilling and coring process was terminated at 1 m, possibly because a rock fragment obstructed the drill bit or internal coring mechanism. Zheng et al [1] state that most of the Chang'E-5 drill samples were derived from 0 to 73.8 cm below the lunar surface, and few samples were extracted below 73.8 cm, as the drilling encountered several rocky regions.…”

Section: Subsurface Structure and Modeling Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Figure 1b illustrates a low-angle illumination Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) Narrow-Angle Camera (NAC) image of the CE-5 landing site, showing that many large rocks (>1 m) are exposed on the southern crater wall of Xu Guangqi. Despite the success of sample collection, the drill of CE-5 only penetrated ~1 m into the regolith [16], and the majority of the samples were derived from 0-73.8 cm depth [1], smaller than the planned 2 m sampling depth [2]. In this study, we will examine the CE-5 LRPR data to study the subsurface structure and explore the possible reason for the shallow penetration depth of the CE-5 drill.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Shallow Regolith Structure and Obstructions Detected by Lunar Regolith Penetrating Radar at Chang’E-5 Drilling Site

2022

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This work analyzes the observations from the Lunar Regolith Penetrating Radar (LRPR) onboard Chang’E-5 to reconstruct the subsurface structure of the regolith under the lander at the drilling site. This is the first stationary Ground-Penetrating Radar (GPR) array to operate on the Moon. Imaging results of pre-drilling and post-drilling measurements show that the thickness of local regolith is larger than 2 m. Within the LRPR’s detection range, we do not find any continuous layer. Instead, irregular, high-density zones are identified in the regolith. Two of these zones are on the drilling trajectory at ~30 cm and ~70 cm, consistent with the recorded drilling process. We speculate a rock fragment from the deeper, high-density zone obstructed the drill, which led to an early termination of the drilling. Based on our interpretation of subsurface structure, we modeled the LRPR echoes using a finite-difference time-domain method. The same imaging algorithm was also applied to the simulation data. The modeled data verify our inference of the regolith structure under the lander.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 58%

Section: Subsurface Structure and Modeling Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Shallow Regolith Structure and Obstructions Detected by Lunar Regolith Penetrating Radar at Chang’E-5 Drilling Site

2022

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“…During this period, the F WOB remained at a high value of approximately 500 N even when the rotation motor continued to cut. The engineering team inferred that a 15-mm rock fragment jammed the inlet of the drill bit, resulting in no samples being squeezed into the soft tube (Liang et al, 2022). In terrestrial validation, although a basalt layer with a thickness of 10 cm can easily be penetrated through, the problem of fragment jamming of the bit cavity was difficult to solve because the central area was outside the cutting range of the bit cutters.…”

Section: Lunar Drilling Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Robotic drilling for the Chinese Chang’E 5 lunar sample-return mission

Zhang

Pang

Zeng

et al. 2023

The International Journal of Robotics Research

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On December 2, 2020, a 2-m class robotic drill onboard the Chinese Chang’E 5 lunar lander successfully penetrated 1 m into the lunar regolith and collected 259.72 g of samples. This paper presents the design and development, terrestrial tests, and lunar sampling results of the robotic drill. First, the system design of the robotic drill, including its engineering objectives, drill configuration, drilling and coring methods, and rotational speed determination, was studied. Subsequently, a control strategy was proposed to address the geological uncertainty and complexity of the lunar surface. Terrestrial tests were conducted to assess the sampling performance of the robotic drill under both atmospheric and vacuum conditions. Finally, the results of drilling on the lunar surface were obtained, and the complex geological conditions encountered were analyzed. The success of the Chinese Chang’E 5 lunar sample-return mission demonstrates the feasibility of the proposed robotic drill. This study can serve as an important reference for future extraterrestrial robotic regolith-sampling missions.

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“…The moon is the nearest extraterrestrial body to the earth and an essential springboard to deep space (Li et al, 2021). Since the origin and evolution of the moon can be reconstructed by studying the physics and heat flux of the lunar subsurface, and there are still numerous hidden resources to be exploited, it has once again become a research hotspot in the field of planetary exploration (Liang et al, 2022; Sanin et al, 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Two novel approaches for solving the contradiction between efficient penetration and low recoil for the low‐velocity penetrator

Xu,

Feng,

Liu

et al. 2024

Journal of Field Robotics

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The low‐velocity penetrator (LVP) is a planetary penetration device that can drive itself to a target depth through its internal periodic impacts. When LVP generates impact energy, it inevitably produces a recoil that can only be counteracted by friction with the soil, if there is no other auxiliary device. Unfortunately, LVP is extraordinarily sensitive to the recoil during the initial stage since the small contact area with the soil results in minor friction between them. Significantly, once the recoil exceeds the friction, LVP cannot work properly and may even retreat, inducing mission failure. In this paper, we develop an optimized LVP with an auxiliary device for lower recoil and higher performance. Specifically, we establish a dynamic model to analyze the single‐cycle motion of LVP and provide essential support for its optimization and design. Meanwhile, an integration method is proposed to calculate the friction between LVP and the soil reasonably and accurately. On the basis of these, we obtain the optimal mass and stiffness parameters of LVP that meet both high penetration efficiency and low recoil. Furthermore, only relying on the parameter optimization is insufficient to eliminate the recoil, and an auxiliary penetration scheme is proposed to provide an external force counteracting the recoil until LVP arrives at a certain depth. Through multiple comparative penetration experiments, we validate the effectiveness of our approaches in promoting penetration ability, stability, and restraining the recoil of LVP. This work provides two novel approaches for solving the contradiction of efficient penetration while reducing the recoil for LVP.

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Analysis of the lunar regolith sample obstruction in the Chang’E-5 drill and its improvement

Cited by 15 publications

References 21 publications

Shallow Regolith Structure and Obstructions Detected by Lunar Regolith Penetrating Radar at Chang’E-5 Drilling Site

Shallow Regolith Structure and Obstructions Detected by Lunar Regolith Penetrating Radar at Chang’E-5 Drilling Site

Robotic drilling for the Chinese Chang’E 5 lunar sample-return mission

Two novel approaches for solving the contradiction between efficient penetration and low recoil for the low‐velocity penetrator

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