This paper presents a new mission concept for planetary exploration, based on the deployment of a large number of small spherical mobile robots (“microbots”) over vast areas of a planet’s surface and subsurface, including structures such as caves and near‐surface crevasses (see Figure 1). This would allow extremely large‐scale in situ analysis of terrain composition and history. This approach represents an alternative to rover and lander‐based planetary exploration, which is limited to studying small areas of a planet’s surface at a small number of sites. The proposed approach is also distinct from balloon or aerial vehicle‐based missions, in that it would allow direct in situ measurement. In the proposed mission, a large number (i.e. hundreds or thousands) of cm‐scale, sub‐kilogram microbots would be distributed over a planet’s surface by an orbital craft and would employ hopping, bouncing and rolling as a locomotion mode to reach scientifically interesting artifacts in very rugged terrain. They would be powered by high energy‐density polymer “muscle” actuators, and equipped with a suite of miniaturized imagers, spectrometers, sampling devices, and chemical detection sensors to conduct in situ measurements of terrain and rock composition, structure, etc. Multiple microbots would coordinate to share information, cooperatively analyze large portions of a planet’s surface or subsurface, and provide context for scientific measurements.


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    Title :

    A Concept Mission: Microbots for Large‐Scale Planetary Surface and Subsurface Exploration


    Contributors:

    Conference:

    SPACE TECHNOLOGY AND APPLICATIONS INT.FORUM-STAIF 2005: Conf.Thermophys in Micrograv;Conf Comm/Civil Next Gen.Space Transp; 22nd Symp Space Nucl.Powr Propuls.;Conf.Human/Robotic Techn.Nat'l Vision Space Expl.; 3rd Symp Space Colon.; 2nd Symp.New Frontiers ; 2005 ; Albuquerque, New Mexico (USA)


    Published in:

    AIP Conference Proceedings ; 746 , 1 ; 1449-1458


    Publication date :

    2005-02-06


    Size :

    10 pages





    Type of media :

    Conference paper


    Type of material :

    Electronic Resource


    Language :

    English



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