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.


    Access

    Check access

    Check availability in my library

    Order at Subito €


    Export, share and cite



    Title :

    In Situ Resource Utilization: Excavation to Support Other Operations


    Contributors:
    Boles, Walter (author) / Kirby, Kam (author) / Baird, Scott (author)

    Conference:

    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


    Published in:

    Publication date :

    2002-06-07




    Type of media :

    Conference paper


    Type of material :

    Electronic Resource


    Language :

    English




    In Situ Resource Utilization: Excavation to Support Other Operations

    Boles, W. / Kirby, K. / Baird, S. et al. | British Library Conference Proceedings | 2002





    Drilling and Excavation on Mars for Construction and In Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU)

    Bar-Cohen, Y. / Zacny, K. / American Society of Civil Engineers | British Library Conference Proceedings | 2010