TRIDENT Drill for VIPER and PRIME-1 Missions to the Moon

Zacny, K.; Chu, P.; Vendiola, V.; Seto, Emily; Quinn, Jacqueline; Eichenbaum, B. R.; J., Captain; Kleinhenz, J.; Colaprete, A.; Elphic, R. C.

doi:10.1061/9780784484470.043

Cited by 5 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…An engineering model of a TRIDENT drill (Zacny et al ., 2021 ) built by Honeybee Robotics ( Fig. 2 ) was mounted on the KREX2 rover and provided subsurface samples to the instruments.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A previous field experiment that is highly relevant to ours was performed as part of the LITA projects (Cabrol et al ., 2007 ). Field work was conducted in 2013 in the hyperarid core of the Atacama Desert by a rover carrying a Honeybee Robotics drill (Zacny et al ., 2014 ; Warren Rhodes et al ., 2019 ) with direct lineage to The Regolith and Ice Drill for Exploration of New Terrains (TRIDENT) (Zacny et al ., 2021 ). The rover traversed 50 km and drilled 32 holes to 80 cm depth.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A Mission Simulating the Search for Life on Mars with Automated Drilling, Sample Handling, and Life Detection Instruments Performed in the Hyperarid Core of the Atacama Desert, Chile

Stoker,

Glass,

Stucky

et al. 2023

Astrobiology

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We report on a field demonstration of a rover-based drilling mission to search for biomolecular evidence of life in the arid core of the Atacama Desert, Chile. The KREX2 rover carried the Honeybee Robotics 1 m depth The Regolith and Ice Drill for Exploration of New Terrains (TRIDENT) drill and a robotic arm with scoop that delivered subsurface fines to three flight prototype instruments: (1) The Signs of Life Detector (SOLID), a protein and biomolecule analyzer based on fluorescence sandwich microarray immunoassay; (2) the Planetary In Situ Capillary Electrophoresis System (PISCES), an amino acid analyzer based on subcritical water extraction coupled to microchip electrophoresis analysis; and (3) a Wet Chemistry Laboratory cell to measure soluble ions using ion selective electrodes and chronopotentiometry. A California-based science team selected and directed drilling and sampling of three sites separated by hundreds of meters that included a light-toned basin area showing evidence of aqueous activity surrounded by a rocky desert pavement. Biosignatures were detected in basin samples collected at depths ranging from 20 to 80 cm but were not detected in the surrounding area. Subsurface stratigraphy of the units drilled was interpreted from drill sensor data as fine-scale layers of sand/clay sediments interspersed with layers of harder material in the basins and a uniform subsurface composed of course-to-fine sand in the surroundings. The mission timeline and number of commands sent to accomplish each activity were tracked. The deepest sample collected (80 cm) required 55 commands, including drilling and delivery to three instruments. Elapsed time required for drilling and sample handling was less than 3 hours to collect sample from 72 cm depth, including time devoted to recovery from a jammed drill. The experiment demonstrated drilling, sample transfer technologies, and instruments that accomplished successful detection of biomolecular evidence of life in one of the most biologically sparse environments on Earth.

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“…An engineering model of a TRIDENT drill (Zacny et al ., 2021 ) built by Honeybee Robotics ( Fig. 2 ) was mounted on the KREX2 rover and provided subsurface samples to the instruments.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Mission Simulating the Search for Life on Mars with Automated Drilling, Sample Handling, and Life Detection Instruments Performed in the Hyperarid Core of the Atacama Desert, Chile

Stoker,

Glass,

Stucky

et al. 2023

Astrobiology

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“…The schematic of the detection system and neutron scattering processes are shown in figure 1. The neutron generator will use the reaction T(d, n) 4 He to produce neutrons of 14.1 MeV energy with maximum source intensity up to 1 × 10 7 n/pulse. The width of the neutron pulse is about 1 μs, and the neutron generator can operate up to 10 Hz.…”

Section: The Detection System and Its Principlementioning

confidence: 99%

“…The final identification, resource exploitation and in-situ utilization of lunar water ice need to rely on the landing and in-place sampling and detection mission in the polar region of the moon. The United States and other countries have aimed at the lunar soil in the polar region or permanent shadow area of the moon to carry out water ice drilling sampling, in-situ sample analysis and resource utilization [3][4][5][6]. China also plans to implement the fourth phase of lunar exploration project to explore the existence of water ice in the comprehensive environment of the polar region of the moon, especially in the permanent shadow area [7].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Simulation study of the lunar water ice detection based on a small neutron generator

Gan,

Li,

Wan

et al. 2024

J. Inst.

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Lunar water ice is an important resource to support the construction of lunar base and other deep space activities, and it is crucial to detect lunar water ice. In this paper, we studied the detection of lunar water ice based on a small neutron generator through Monte-Carlo simulation. The schematic of the detection system and the principle are explained. The simulation results demonstrate that the change of thermal neutron flux with the increase of water content is most obvious and clear. There is a positive correlation between thermal neutron counting and water content in lunar soil. Using thermal neutron counting, the water content can be obtained by inversion.

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“…En muchos casos los minerales están intrínsecamente unidos en tamaños imposibles de separar por la tecnología actual, por lo cual la selección del lugar debe considerar variables mineralógicas, usando el enfoque geometalúrgico. Este problema puede ser evaluado desde dos enfoques, una prospección a nivel geoquímico [16], como las agencias lo han venido abordado, es decir, tomar muestras in situ y medir directamente la composición química y las características mineralógicas. El segundo enfoque considera la geofísica, es decir métodos basados en electromagnetismo, sísmicos o de ultrasonido para encontrar áreas extensas de recursos y materiales.…”

Section: B Operaciones Mineras Aplicables En La Lunaunclassified

Space Resources on the Moon and Space Mining

Lino¹

2023

Proceedings of the 21th LACCEI International Multi-Conference for Engineering, Education and Technology (LACCEI 2023): “Leaders

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Space mining is the biggest challenge of the 21st century. The existence of resources such as volatiles and oxides, metals, and water discovered in recent years on the Moon, Mars, and near-Earth asteroids indicates that their grade would reach sufficient levels to supply raw materials for future human settlements in the solar system. Although these issues have been widely addressed in the last 50 years, technical information in Spanish is scarce for the Hispanic community. This document is based on an extensive systematic review spanning from 1987 to 2022 and includes distribution maps of the major resources on the Moon. The article explains the main challenges in the prospecting stage as well as the limitations for excavation and transport, such as low temperatures (50°C) or topography (slopes > 25°). The summary includes details of the main routes for the recovery of water, oxygen, and metals, as well as the metallurgical conditions for obtaining water and oxygen (for example, temperature: 200K to 2000K). It is concluded that there is an important technological advance to enable the extraction of materials on the moon and thatwe are close to seeing the first operational units on its surface.

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TRIDENT Drill for VIPER and PRIME-1 Missions to the Moon

Cited by 5 publications

References 6 publications

A Mission Simulating the Search for Life on Mars with Automated Drilling, Sample Handling, and Life Detection Instruments Performed in the Hyperarid Core of the Atacama Desert, Chile

A Mission Simulating the Search for Life on Mars with Automated Drilling, Sample Handling, and Life Detection Instruments Performed in the Hyperarid Core of the Atacama Desert, Chile

Simulation study of the lunar water ice detection based on a small neutron generator

Space Resources on the Moon and Space Mining

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