Dedicated to providing innovative solutions to the broadly-defined aerospace industry. Energy-efficient regolith compactor for surface construction.
Created: 2022-02-12
Updated: 2023-02-26
Product/Service - GALAGO
- Classification
- Space Resources
- Category
- ISRU (In Situ Resource Utilization)
Space Mining
Commercial Rover
- Fields
- Hopper
- Status
- Concept
- First launch
- Not announced
GALAGO
- This research considers the development of a novel robotic platform, called Galago, for delivering scientific instrumentation for in-situ geomorphology studies to the areas normally not accessible to rovers and providing the scout capabilities that would significantly lower the mission risk of exploring undulated terrains during lunar missions.
- Galago possesses a minimalistic design (up to 10 kg robotic platform), i.e. three symmetrical actuating legs distributed uniformly around its main platform, which allows the robot to vectorize its hopping in 3D space.
- It is purposely designed for lunar gravity, which requires a highly energetic and efficient design of the actuator, its key sub-system. The actuator is compact and modular (110 x 190 x 82 mm and mass less than 1.5kg) and accumulates the energy (up to 50 J each) with low power consumption (below 5 W) by compressing drive springs in a rotary drum via a cam and a tether system pulled by a trolley on a ball screw. The actuator is then released by an electromagnet at a desired level of energy. The analyzed hopping efficiency is high (60-70%), which translates to 3-7 m of hopping height on the Moon depending on the surface type. As a result, Galago architecture can be scaled down to lower gravities and utilized in other missions for small moons (e.g. Phobos) or asteroids, which on the contrary is not possible the other way round for already known technologies for micro-gravity, e.g. MINERVA or MASCOT.
COMPACTOR
Compactor is Astronika’s contribution to ESA’s Off-Earth Construction and Manufacturing campaign. We are developing a robotic regolith compactor based on a highly-energetic voice coil actuator. The device can level the surface and increase its near-surface density, creating a geotechnically improved layer of higher cohesion and bearing capacity.
The project adapts terrestrial practices in site preparation and groundwork using baseplate compaction. The device can be mounted as a front or backload of a rover, or directly under the rover, thus allowing for large-scale mobility. The main application of regolith compaction is to provide a preliminary horizontal construction capability in building landing-launch pads for heavy landers. No terrestrially-sourced binders are needed in the process. Consecutive sintering/melting and compaction can however be beneficial for further geotechnical reinforcement.
- The project targets TRL 4 subject to a test campaign in a 1.5-tonne regolith sandbox. At the current stage, the device fits within a 30x30x30 cm envelope, with a mass of 30 kg, most of which is used by the actuator. Large energies and reaction forces are necessary to fulfil the regolith compaction tasks, that is why it is beneficial for the device to be lightweight on launch, and filled will rocks and regolith after landing.
- Apart from construction, the device can be used as an active source of seismic waves, acting similarly to vibrator trucks on Earth used in seismic prospecting.
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