Key features for space exploration equipment, and in particular drills and sampling mechanisms, are low weight, small size, and energy efficiency. These characteristics are substantially required not only in reducing the spaceship flight cost, but also in extending the exploration time on the extraterrestrial bodies. This article experimentally investigates the feasibility of a novel drill bioinspired by wood-wasp and sand-fish lizard as an integrated robotic solution for rover exploration tasks. A new penetration depth of 820 mm in terms of reciprocation drilling technique has been achieved by the proposed dual reciprocation and oscillation drill (DROD), especially with the new enhancements such as miniature sample compartment and toothed stems. Additionally, a first sampling experiment with DROD has been performed and a sample amount of 20 g and size of 30 cm3 has been collected successfully. Finally, the article provides developments for integration of DROD with rovers for future exploration missions and potentials for horizontal drilling for subterranean applications.

Improving the efficiency of a subsurface sample acquisition process provides operational benefits such as reduced bit wear and power consumption, and may increase the sample fidelity by minimising alterations caused by the drilling operation to the surrounding substrate. This could be achieved by acquiring multiple samples during a single drilling procedure. Although some recent planetary drills have incorporated a hybrid cored and cuttings sampling technique, there are currently no systems that have been designed to obtain and separately store multiple comparable samples. The Internal Actuation Mechanism, developed as part of the latest generation of the Dual-Reciprocating Drill, will incorporate a rotating shutter mechanism capable of acquiring up to four samples. In the first demonstration of the fully-integrated prototype using layers of differently-coloured sand, the shutter mechanism was shown to be able to take multiple samples in a single drilling operation. These experiments also confirmed the observations of numerical simulations, which showed that the drill's teethed design results in regolith from the surface layer being dragged down with the descending drill and collected by the sampling system. By optimising the geometrical design to increase sample value and refining the shutter mechanism to improve reliability, a multi-sample acquisition system for planetary subsurface exploration could become a viable technology.

This article presents a novel hybrid evolution of the biologically-inspired dual-reciprocating drill (DRD). The proposed system combines the reciprocation motion used by previous iterations of the wood wasp drill with a proposed new undulatory/oscillation motion. This is inspired by the caudal fins of marine creatures, which use this motion to generate a thrust force to propel themselves through water, and sandfish, which use an undulatory body motion to bury and hide themselves in sand. It is proposed that including this motion will significantly enhance the performance of the DRD, resulting in the design of the novel dual reciprocation oscillation drill (DROD). The development of this third generation of the DRD system is also targeting full integration with planetary rovers. Several improvements have also been proposed to improve its suitability for a space exploration mission, such as a compact size, a large (173 cm3) automated sampling compartment, potential stem flexibility and customised drill bits for exploiting the various regolith physical properties on planetary bodies. This article presents a quantitative and numerical analysis of the DROD design. The feasibility of the DROD has been proved by the kinematics and dynamics simulations produced by MATLAB and ADAMS. Finally, the effectiveness of different drilling motions was studied numerically using discrete element modelling and multi-body dynamic (EDEM-ADAMS) co-simulations. This revealed the underlying mechanisms of the drill–soil interactions and will pave the way for the development of robust numerical models for different regoliths in the future.

Chapter Contents: 4.1 Subsurface exploration 4.1.1 Ovipositor drilling 4.1.1.1 Dual-reciprocating drill 4.1.2 Peristaltic motion 4.2 Surface mobility inspired by animals 4.2.1 Gecko and spider adhesion 4.2.1.1 Waalbot 4.2.1.2 Abigaille 4.2.1.3 Legged excursion mechanical utility rover 4.2.1.4 Additional concepts 4.2.2 Legged locomotion 4.2.2.1 Abigaille 4.2.2.2 SCORPION 4.2.2.3 Additional concepts 4.2.3 Hopping locomotion 4.3 Object capture 4.3.1 Adhesive grippers 4.3.2 Kangaroo vibration suppression 4.4 Mobility inspired by plants 4.4.1 Seed dispersal 4.4.1.1 Mars Tumbleweed 4.4.2 Vine and tendril climbing 4.4.2.1 Tendril 4.4.3 Plant root growth 4.5 Artificial muscle actuators 4.5.1 Ionic polymer metal composites 4.5.2 Dielectric elastomers 4.6 Aerial mobility 4.6.1 Wing-flapping mechanisms 4.7 Navigation systems for mobility 4.7.1 Natural and invasive interfacing 4.7.1.1 Insect/machine hybrid controller 4.7.2 Honeybee optics 4.7.2.1 Bio-inspired engineering of exploration systems 4.7.3 Optic flow landing 4.7.3.1 Elementary motion detectors 4.7.3.2 Additional concepts 4.8 Multi-agent spacecraft system architectures 4.8.1 Swarm intelligence 4.8.1.1 Autonomous Nano Technology Swarm 4.8.1.2 Additional concepts 4.8.2 Cellular spacecraft architecture 4.8.2.1 Cell apoptosis 4.8.2.2 Satellite Stem Cell 4.9 Hibernation for human spaceflight 4.10 Summary and future References

The dual-reciprocating drill (DRD) is a low-mass alternative to traditional drilling techniques biologically inspired by the wood wasp ovipositor, which is used to drill into wood in order to lay its eggs. The DRD reciprocates two halves lined with backwards-facing teeth, enabling it to generate traction forces that reduce the required overhead penetration force. While previous research has focused on experimental testing of the drill’s operational and design parameters, numerical simulation techniques are being developed to allow the rapid testing of multiple designs, complementing and informing experimental testing campaigns. The latest DRD design iteration integrated a novel internal actuation mechanism and demonstrated the benefits of adding controlled lateral movements. This paper presents an exploration of how bit morphology affects drilling performance and a preliminary study of discrete element method (DEM) simulations for modelling DRD interactions in regolith. These have shown how regolith grain size and microscopic behaviour significantly affects the performance of different drill designs, and demonstrated how customisable drills can exploit the properties of various substrates. Two system prototypes are also being developed for the DRD’s third generation, each utilising novel actuation and sampling mechanisms. A final drill design will then be deployed from a planetary rover and perform the first DRD drilling and sampling operation.

Two laboratory test series were performed with the aim of ensuring the proper functionality of the key sampling mechanisms installed aboard the Mars rover ExoMars, currently scheduled for launch in 2020 by the European Space Agency ESA. In order to facilitate the chemical analysis of the Martian ground accessible to the ExoMars drill, the retrieved drill cores must first be milled. This task is performed by a crushing station (CS), which delivers the milled product to a dosing device (PSDDS). From there the material is distributed further to the various analysis instruments mounted on the rover. The first test series was performed with a mock-up of crushing station and dosing device under simulated Martian pressure and temperature conditions. As a worst-case scenario, crushing of frozen soil mixtures was performed and the milling products were collected in the dosing station before being further distributed. In the second test series, granular analogue materials equivalent to the milled products obtained in previous tests were stored for periods of several days in the input funnel of the dosing device. The set-up included a regulation valve through which water vapour was streamed into the vacuum chamber to create a water vapour-saturated atmosphere. The purpose of this series of tests was to investigate if the presence of water can cause cementation of the samples, and how this subsequently affects the operation of the crushing and distribution devices. Our results indicate that the milling device works very well with the current design both for loose and for hard block-like materials, e.g., chunks of frozen soil. It was also found that milled material, when subjected to a water-saturated atmosphere, does not experience any cementation.

The ISECG identifies one of the first exploration steps as in situ investigations of the moon or asteroids. Europe is developing payload concepts for drilling and sample analysis, a contribution to a 250kg rover as well as for sample return. To achieve these missions, ESA depends on international partnerships. Such missions will be seldom, expensive and the drill/sample site selected will be based on observations from orbit not calibrated with ground truth data. Many of the international science community’s objectives can be met at lower cost, or the chances of mission success improved and the quality of the science increased by making use of an innovative, low mass, mobile robotic payload following the LEAG recommendations. LUVMI provides a smart, low mass, innovative, modular mobile payload comprising surface and subsurface sensing with an in-situ sampling technology capable of depth-resolved extraction of volatiles, combined with a volatile analyser (mass spectrometer) capable of identifying the chemical composition of the most important volatiles. This will allow LUVMI to: traverse the lunar surface prospecting for volatiles; sample subsurface up to a depth of 10 cm (with a goal of 20 cm); extract water and other loosely bound volatiles; identify the chemical species extracted; access and sample permanently shadowed regions (PSR). The main innovation of LUVMI is to develop an in situ sampling technology capable of depth-resolved extraction of volatiles, and then to package within this tool, the analyser itself, so as to maximise transfer efficiency and minimise sample handling and its attendant mass requirements and risk of sample alteration. By building on national, EC and ESA funded research and developments, this project will develop to TRL6 instruments that together form a smart modular mobile payload that could be flight ready in 2020. The LUVMI sampling instrument will be tested in a highly representative environment including thermal, vacuum and regolith simulant and the integrated payload demonstrated in a representative environment.

The International Space Exploration Coordination Group (ISECG) identifies one of the first exploration steps as in situ investigations of the Moon or asteroids. Europe is developing payload concepts for drilling and sample analysis, a contribution to a 250kg rover as well as for sample return. To achieve these missions, ESA depends on international partnerships. Such missions will be seldom, expensive and the drill/sample site selected will be based on observations from orbit not calibrated with ground truth data. Many of the international science community’s objectives can be met at lower cost, or the chances of mission success improved and the quality of the science increased by making use of an innovative, low mass, mobile robotic payload following the LEAG recommendations. As a main objective LUVMI is designed specifically for operations at the South Pole of the Moon with a payload accommodated by a novel lightweight mobile platform (rover) with a range of several kilometers. Over the 2 years duration of the project, the scientific instruments payload will be developed and validated up to TRL 6. LUVMI targets being ready for flight in 2020 on an ESA mission partially supported by private funding. 1. CONTEXT AND MOTIVATION Future long-term lunar exploration efforts will rely heavily on in-situ resource utilization to produce mission consumables, fuel or even structures on the lunar surface and, thus reduce transportation cost. One of the most interesting resources available at the Moon are loosely bound (physisorbed) volatiles found in or around cold traps near the lunar poles. Recent years have seen several remote observation missions that have searched for evidence of lunar water. Clementine [6] and Chandrayaan-1 [5] have performed radio-wave reflection measurements, with results consistent with the presence of water. Other orbital measurements, including the LOLA laser altimeter of LRO [4] and measurements of epithermal neutron emissions [3] have yielded inconclusive results that suggest water may be present but does not necessarily coincide with Permanently Shadowed Regions (PSRs). So far the only direct observation of lunar water was performed during the LCROSS experiment, when the ejecta plume of an impactor in the Cabeus Crater of the lunar south pole was observed and a water content of 5.6 +/2.9 wt% was detected [1]. The next logical step in lunar volatiles exploration is the in-situ investigation around or even inside a PSR, which will provide a definite answer to the question of the existence of lunar water and provide ground truth data for the calibration of orbital measurements. 1.1. ISECG Objectives LUVMI addresses top priorities established [1] by the Lunar Exploration Analysis Group (LEAG) Volatiles Specific Action Team (VSAT). These are: 1. Determining the variability of volatile distribution 2. Identification of the chemical phase of volatile

The Powdered Sample Dosing and Distribution System (PSDDS) of the ExoMars rover will be required to handle and contain samples of Mars regolith for long periods of time. Cementation of the regolith, caused by water and salts in the soil, results in clumpy material and a duricrust layer forming on the surface. It is therefore possible that material residing in the sampling system may cement, and could potentially hinder its operation. There has yet to be an investigation into the formation of duricrusts under simulated Martian conditions, or how this may affect the performance of sample handling mechanisms. Therefore experiments have been performed to create a duricrust and to explore the cementation of Mars analogues, before performing a series of tests on a qualification model of the PSDDS under simulated Martian conditions.It was possible to create a consolidated crust of cemented material several millimetres deep, with the material below remaining powder-like. It was seen that due to the very low permeability of the Montmorillonite component material, diffusion of water through the material was quickly blocked, resulting in a sample with an inhomogeneous water content. Additionally, samples with a water mass content of 10% or higher would cement into a single solid piece. Finally, tests with the PSDDS revealed that samples with a water mass content of just 5% created small clumps with significant internal cohesion, blocking the sample funnels and preventing transportation of the material. These experiments have highlighted that the cementation of regolith in Martian conditions must be taken into consideration in the design of sample handling instruments. (C) 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The low inclination of the lunar orbit allows areas in high latitudes to remain in eternal darkness. These Permanently Shadowed Regions (PSR) are never illuminated by heating sunlight and are some of the coldest places in the Solar System which are thought to contain vast deposits of water and other volatiles. In‐situ measurements are required as a definite proof of the existence of water and other volatiles in and around a PSR. The LUnar Volatiles Mobile Instrumentation (LUVMI) is an autonomous, low mass, modular rover consisting of surface and subsurface sensing instruments with an in‐situ sampling and analysis technology capable of depth resolved volatile extraction and characterisation. With a total mass of less than 20 kg LUVMI is intended as an additional mobile payload for a lunar polar lander mission that will add the capability of allowing access to a PSR. Volatile extraction from the lunar regolith will be carried out by the Volatiles Sampler (VS), which will sample the subsurface up to a depth of 10 cm, extract water and other loosely bound volatiles through heating. The design of the VS provides efficient volatile sample transfer and minimizes sample handling requirements. Evolved volatile characterisation will be performed by the Volatiles Analyser (VA) which is a miniature mass spectrometer based on the Ptolemy mass spectrometer instrument on‐board Philae, the ESA Rosetta Lander. We will discuss the LUVMI rover concept, the current concept of operations and the design of the mass spectrometer extraction systems.

As icy regolith is believed to exist in the subsurface of permanently shadowed areas near the lunar south pole, there is a growing interest in obtaining samples from these polar regions. To qualify for spaceflight, sampling instruments must demonstrate their ability to operate in the expected environment. However, there is currently no quantitative data detailing the extent and distribution of ice in polar regolith. While work has been done to determine the effects of water ice content in simulants such as JSC-1A, to date there has been no investigation into the properties of icy simulants of the regolith believed to be found at lunar polar regions. A series of experiments has therefore been conducted to determine the properties of icy NU-LHT-2M lunar highland simulant, an approximation of lunar polar regolith, at varying degrees of saturation. A number of procedures for preparing the simulant were tested, with the aim of defining a standardised technique for the creation of icy simulants with controlled water contents. Saturation of the highland simulant was found to occur at a water mass content between 13% and 17%, while cone penetration tests demonstrated that a significant increase in penetration resistance occurs at 5 +/- 1%. Uniaxial compression tests showed an increase in regolith strength with water mass and density, which slows down as the saturation level is reached. The results presented here demonstrate the first characterisation of the properties of icy lunar polar regolith simulants, which can be expanded upon to further the understanding of its properties for use in future instrumentation testing. (C) 2016 COSPAR. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The dual-reciprocating drill (DRD) is a biologically-inspired low-mass alternative to traditional drilling techniques, using backwards facing teethed halves to grip the surrounding substrate, generating a traction force that reduces the required overhead penetration force. Previous experiments using a proof-of-concept test bench have provided evidence as to the significant role of sideways movements and lateral forces in improving drilling performance. The system is also progressing to a first system prototype concept, in which an actuation mechanism is integrated within the drill heads. To experimentally determine the effect of lateral motions, a new internal actuation mechanism was developed to allow the inclusion of controlled sideways movements, resulting in the creation of the circular and diagonal burrowing motions. This paper presents an investigation into the performance of the reciprocation and burrowing motions by testing them in a planetary regolith simulant. Analysis of force sensor measurements has shown a relationship between the penetration and traction forces and the internal friction of the mechanism and depth achieved. These tests have also experimentally demonstrated the benefit of lateral motions in drilling performance, with both the burrowing mechanisms and drilling tests performed at an angle able to penetrate further than traditional vertical reciprocation, leading to the proposition of new burrowing and diagonal drilling mechanics. From this, a new fully integrated system prototype can be developed which incorporates lateral motions that can optimise the drilling performance. (C) 2017 COSPAR. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

This article presents the evolution of the first-ever robotic DRD-based penetrator for planetary exploration, as it transfers from a proof-of-concept test bench through to a prototype of the system. The architecture that has been selected is an internal actuation mechanism integrated into the drill head, driven by a conventional motor drive and with a bistable composite OHF and deployment mechanism. The new modified test bench is demonstrated to characterize the drilling technology, with the aim to test the full DRD system in the near future. The DRD has now been developed into a first prototype capable of drilling up to depths of 500 mm in planetary regoliths, with initial experiments showing the relationships between the penetration rate, frequency, and amplitude. The architecture can now be moved to the next stage of development by demonstrating a fully integrated system and exploring the addition of a hybrid drilling mechanism.

The dual-reciprocating drill (DRD) is a biologically-inspired concept which has shown promise in planetary environments, requiring a lower overhead force than traditional rotary drilling techniques. By using two reciprocating backwards-facing teethed halves to grip the surrounding substrate, it generates a traction force that reduces the required overhead penetration force. Research into DRD has focused on the effects of operational and substrate parameters on performance compared to static penetration, with minimal study of the geometrical parameters which define the drill head. This paper presents the exploration of the effects of drill head design on drilling depth and power consumption. Sixteen variations of the original design were tested in planetary regolith simulants up to depths of 800 mm. The experiments showed relationships between final depth, total drill radius and cone shape, though the teeth design had a negligible effect on performance. These results can be used alongside the previous research to optimise the future design and operation of the DRD. Drill stem bending was seen to cause an increase in drilling speed and depth, leading to the exploration of the mechanics of diagonal drilling. This resulted in the proposal of a fully-integrated system prototype that incorporates both reciprocating and lateral motion mechanisms. (C) 2015 COSPAR. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Pitcher, C.; Sheridan, S.; Barber, S.; Urbina, D.; Gancet, J.; Kullack, K.; Ceglia, E.; Madakashira, H.; Salinia, J.; Govindaraj, S.; Surdo, L.; Aked, R.; Biswas, J.; Reiss, P.; Richter, L.; Dobrea, D.; Reganaz, M.; Murray, Neil; Rushton, J. and Evagora, A. (2018). Volatile Extraction and Detection from Frozen Lunar Regolith Simulants in Preparation for the LUVMI Rover. In: 6th European Lunar Symposium, 14-16 May 2018, Toulouse, France.

LUVMI is an innovative, low mass, mobile robotic payload designed specifically for operations at the South Pole of the Moon with a range of several kilometres. Over the 2 past years of the project, the key LUVMI scientific instruments (volatiles analyser and volatiles sampler) were successfully developed and validated up to TRL 5-6. In addition, a ground prototype of the LUVMI rover was developed and tested in a series of outdoor trials, in rocky and sandy environments. This rover, with a target dry mass of ~40kg for a flight version, features an adjustable height chassis to adapt to terrain roughness and allowing to bring instruments very closely and precisely to the surface. The locomotion capability of the LUVMI rover was tested in partially representative conditions, as part of the project. This paper reports on the project’s results and lessons learnt, and gives indications of how LUVMI may be further matured to target potential mission slots in the mid-2020s, as part of ESA mission and/or supported by private funding.