PROMETHEUS is a cryobot concept targeted for deployment on Ocean Worlds and consists of a fully-instru-mented science vehicle able to actively control descent through the ice shell and into the subsurface ocean. The concept employs closed-cycle hot water drilling (CCHWD) technology as the pri-mary means of penetrating ice and making forward and turning progress. A “passive” (i.e. purely conductive) heat transfer system enables penetration starting on the surface where liquid water cannot exist until borehole closure is achieved and the sys-tem proceeds inside a melt water “bubble”. PROMETHEUS is compatible with a small fission reactor (the NASA Kilopower design) and employs a vertical motion control system (VMCS) using a trailing tether frozen into the ice to guard against falling through voids and enabling controlled entry into the sub-ice ocean. The design is capable of achieving a 20 km descent through a Europan ice profile in under a year and under 650 kg vehicle mass, including reactor mass. This paper details ex-perimental tests in 80K ice and vacuum of scaled versions of the PROMETHEUS vehicle.


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    Titel :

    Deep Cryogenic Vacuum-Ice Testing of Cryobots: Project PROMETHEUS


    Beteiligte:
    Stone, William C. (Autor:in) / Siegel, Vickie (Autor:in) / Richmond, Kristof (Autor:in) / Ralston, James (Autor:in)

    Erschienen in:

    Erscheinungsdatum :

    2023-03-04


    Format / Umfang :

    28645725 byte




    Medientyp :

    Aufsatz (Konferenz)


    Format :

    Elektronische Ressource


    Sprache :

    Englisch



    Project Prometheus

    Johnson, Steve | NTRS | 2003


    The PROMETHEUS project

    Williams,M. / Preston,N.C.G.N. / Gaydon Technology,GB | Kraftfahrwesen | 1987


    Project Prometheus: Program Overview

    Newhouse, A. / Canaveral Council of Technical Societies | British Library Conference Proceedings | 2004