The Dual-Rasp Sampling System Design with Closed Pneumatic Sample Transfer
- Resource Type
- Conference
- Authors
- Badescu, Mircea; Okamoto, Tyler; Backes, Paul; Moreland, Scott; Riccobono, Dario; Kugel, Matthias; Brinkman, Alex; Choukroun, Mathieu; Molaro, Jamie; Newbold, Timothy; Heness, Andrew B.
- Source
- 2021 IEEE Aerospace Conference (50100) Aerospace Conference (50100), 2021 IEEE. :1-11 Mar, 2021
- Subject
- Aerospace
Communication, Networking and Broadcast Technologies
Components, Circuits, Devices and Systems
Computing and Processing
Engineering Profession
General Topics for Engineers
Robotics and Control Systems
Signal Processing and Analysis
Transportation
Actuators
Instruments
Saturn
Conferences
Moon
Tools
Valves
- Language
The novel Dual-Rasp sampling system has been developed for landed missions to low gravity planetary bodies and is particularly well suited for the unique environment of Saturn's moon Enceladus. The Dual-Rasp sampling system has two counter-rotating rasp cutters that remove material from the surface and direct it into a guide. The cuttings follow the guide into a sample collection cup. When the sampling collection completes, the tool reconfigures by rotating the guide to create a closed circuit for pneumatic sample transfer from the collection cup to science instruments on the lander. A valve opens a gas tank and the gas flows from that tank into the sample collection cup and down rigid tubing to the science instruments chamber on the lander. A two degree of freedom arm with base actuators is used to deploy the sampler and control its sampling location.