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Wireline Deep Drill for the Exploration of Icy BodiesOne of the most pressing current questions in space science is whether life has ever arisen anywhere else in the universe. Water is a critical prerequisite for all life-as-we-know-it, thus the possible exploration targets for extraterrestrial life are bodies that have or had copious liquid: Mars, Europa, and Enceladus. Due to the oxidizing nature of Mars' surface, as well as subsurface liquid water reservoirs present on Europa and Enceladus, the search for evidence of existing life must likely focus on subsurface locations, at depths sufficient to support liquid water or retain biologic signatures. To address these questions, an Auto-Gopher sampler has been developed that is a wireline type drill. This drill is suspended on a tether and its motors and mechanisms are built into a tube that ends with a coring bit. The tether provides the mechanical connection to a rover/lander on a surface as well as power and data communication. Upon penetrating to a target depth, the drill is retracted from the borehole, the core is deposited into a sample transfer system, and the drill is lowered back into the hole. Wireline operation sidesteps one of the major drawbacks of traditional continuous drill string systems by obviating the need for multiple drill sections, which add significantly to the mass and the complexity of the system (i.e. penetration rate was 40 cm per hour). Drilling to 2 meter depth and recovering of cores every 10 cm took a total time of 15 hours (a single step of drilling 10 cm and retrieving the core was 45 minutes). Total energy to reach the 2 m depth was 500 Whr. The Weight on Bit was limited to less than 70 Newton. The core recovery was 100%.
Document ID
20150007424
Acquisition Source
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Document Type
Conference Paper
External Source(s)
Authors
Paulsen, G.
(Honeybee Robotics Pasadena, CA, United States)
Zacny, K.
(Honeybee Robotics Pasadena, CA, United States)
Mellerowicz, B.
(Honeybee Robotics Pasadena, CA, United States)
Craft, J.
(Honeybee Robotics Pasadena, CA, United States)
Bar-Cohen, Y.
(Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)
Beegle, L.
(Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)
Sherrit, S.
(Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)
Badescu, M.
(Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)
Corsetti, F.
(University of Southern California Los Angeles, CA, United States)
Ibarra, Y.
(University of Southern California Los Angeles, CA, United States)
Date Acquired
May 6, 2015
Publication Date
March 18, 2013
Subject Category
Lunar And Planetary Science And Exploration
Meeting Information
Meeting: Lunar and Planetary Science Conference (LPSC 2013)
Location: The Woodlands, TX
Country: United States
Start Date: March 18, 2013
End Date: March 22, 2013
Sponsors: Lunar and Planetary Inst.
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other
Keywords
sampling
auto-gopher
piezo-actuation
drilling

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