Missions to surfaces of planetary bodies and asteroids, whether manned or robotic, will encounter dust, soil, and rock fragments, possibly combined with ice, which will affect mechanical operations. Contact with these materials may be incidental or intentional in the case of digging or drilling operations. The complications encountered on the Apollo missions must be resolved before a long-term facility can be established on the lunar surface. In the quest for a manned mission to Mars there are many unanswered questions about the Martian surface and how it will impact the mechanical and life-support operation on the Martian surface. Robotic missions will also encounter the soils and rocks of Mars and interesting asteroids on sample return missions. This paper discusses potential problems associated with mechanical operations in contact with the regolith (soil and rocks). Typical operations that may take place are described as background information and a detailed description or the Martian regolith is presented for background purposes. A companion paper titled "The Impact of Incidental Contact with Regolith in Martian and Lunar Environments," describes the lunar regolith and discusses potential problems contact with the regolith may cause for surface operations Potential problems associated with intentional contact are discussed in this paper along with recommended areas for further research. The paper culminates with a list of recommended research areas, many of which require physical experiments for validation.
In Situ Resource Utilization: Excavation to Support Other Operations
Eighth International Conference on Engineering, Construction, Operation, and Business In Space; Fifth International Conference and Exposition and Demonstration on Robotics for Challenging Situations and Environments ; 2002 ; Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States
Space 2002 and Robotics 2002 ; 148-154
2002-06-07
Aufsatz (Konferenz)
Elektronische Ressource
Englisch
In Situ Resource Utilization: Excavation to Support Other Operations
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