2004 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary
Study on Mole Type Drilling Robot for Lunar Subsurface Exploration
| Project/Area Number |
15560230
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
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| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
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| Section | 一般 |
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| Research Field |
Intelligent mechanics/Mechanical systems
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| Research Institution | Japan Aerospace and Exploration Agency |
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Principal Investigator |
KUBOTA Takashi Japan Aerospace and Exploration Agency, Institute of Space and Astronautical Science Spacecraft Engineering Division, Associate Professor, 宇宙科学研究本部・宇宙探査工学研究系, 助教授 (90211888)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2003 – 2004
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| Keywords | Subsurface Exploration Robot / Moving Mechanism / Maneuverable Robot in Soil / Drilling System / Lunar Subsurface Exploration / Micro Robot / Regolith Drilling / planetary Exploration |
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| Research Abstract |
Unmanned deep space explorations have received a lot of attention in recent years. Some missions to land safely and explore on the surface of the moon or other planets are proposed and planned in the world. In Japan, lunar lander-rover mission is also planned, which is called SELENE-B. In these missions, it is required to perform sampling, conduct in-situ analysis of geological samples and deploy devices for measurement and observation. Many researchers have studied and developed sample acquisition systems and driller or corer systems. Recently deep drillers or penetrating systems have been required to obtain deep data for subsurface exploration. In lunar mission, it is needed to excavate the regolith layer, which covers the lunar surface, in depth of several meters. Some suggestions for drilling on the lunar surface have already been made. However, there are no schemes that satisfy the requirement. This study proposes a mole-like robot which is maneuverable in regolith. Then, a scheme is also proposed, for the robot to move forward in the soil. Finally, the moving mechanism is studied by powder mechanical analyses and some experiments. The experimental results show the feasibility of the proposed robot.
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