This paper describes the development of a proof-of-concept sample verification system (SVS) for in-situ mass measurement of planetary rock and soil sample in future robotic sample return missions. Our proof-of-concept SVS device contains a 10 cm diameter pressure sensitive elastic membrane placed at the bottom of a sample canister. The membrane deforms under the weight of accumulating planetary sample. The membrane is positioned in proximity to an opposing substrate with a narrow gap. The deformation of the membrane makes the gap to be narrower, resulting in increased capacitance between the two nearly parallel plates. Capacitance readout circuitry on a nearby printed circuit board (PCB) transmits data via a low-voltage differential signaling (LVDS) interface. The fabricated SVS proof-of-concept device has successfully demonstrated approximately 1pF/gram capacitance change.


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    Title :

    Development of sample verification system for sample return missions



    Published in:

    Publication date :

    2011-03-01


    Size :

    1102089 byte





    Type of media :

    Conference paper


    Type of material :

    Electronic Resource


    Language :

    English



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