NASA Logo

NTRS

NTRS - NASA Technical Reports Server

Back to Results
Investigating Astromaterials Curation Applications for Dexterous Robotic ArmsThe Astromaterials Acquisition and Curation office at NASA Johnson Space Center is currently investigating tools and methods that will enable the curation of future astromaterials collections. Size and temperature constraints for astromaterials to be collected by current and future proposed missions will require the development of new robotic sample and tool handling capabilities. NASA Curation has investigated the application of robot arms in the past, and robotic 3-axis micromanipulators are currently in use for small particle curation in the Stardust and Cosmic Dust laboratories. While 3-axis micromanipulators have been extremely successful for activities involving the transfer of isolated particles in the 5-20 micron range (e.g. from microscope slide to epoxy bullet tip, beryllium SEM disk), their limited ranges of motion and lack of yaw, pitch, and roll degrees of freedom restrict their utility in other applications. For instance, curators removing particles from cosmic dust collectors by hand often employ scooping and rotating motions to successfully free trapped particles from the silicone oil coatings. Similar scooping and rotating motions are also employed when isolating a specific particle of interest from an aliquot of crushed meteorite. While cosmic dust curators have been remarkably successful with these kinds of particle manipulations using handheld tools, operator fatigue limits the number of particles that can be removed during a given extraction session. The challenges for curation of small particles will be exacerbated by mission requirements that samples be processed in N2 sample cabinets (i.e. gloveboxes). We have been investigating the use of compact robot arms to facilitate sample handling within gloveboxes. Six-axis robot arms potentially have applications beyond small particle manipulation. For instance, future sample return missions may involve biologically sensitive astromaterials that can be easily compromised by physical interaction with a curator; other potential future returned samples may require cryogenic curation. Robot arms may be combined with high resolution cameras within a sample cabinet and controlled remotely by curator. Sophisticated robot arm and hand combination systems can be programmed to mimic the movements of a curator wearing a data glove; successful implementation of such a system may ultimately allow a curator to virtually operate in a nitrogen, cryogenic, or biologically sensitive environment with dexterity comparable to that of a curator physically handling samples in a glove box.
Document ID
20180002588
Acquisition Source
Johnson Space Center
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Snead, C. J.
(Jacobs Technologies Engineering Science Contract Group Houston, TX, United States)
Jang, J. H.
(Jacobs Technologies Engineering Science Contract Group Houston, TX, United States)
Cowden, T. R.
(Texas State Univ. San Marcos, TX, United States)
McCubbin, F. M.
(NASA Johnson Space Center Houston, TX, United States)
Date Acquired
April 27, 2018
Publication Date
March 19, 2018
Subject Category
Cybernetics, Artificial Intelligence And Robotics
Space Sciences (General)
Report/Patent Number
JSC-E-DAA-TN51930
Meeting Information
Meeting: Lunar and Planetary Science Conference
Location: The Woodlands, TX
Country: United States
Start Date: March 19, 2018
End Date: March 23, 2018
Sponsors: Lunar and Planetary Inst.
Funding Number(s)
CONTRACT_GRANT: NNJ13HA01C
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Public Use Permitted.
No Preview Available