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Moon-Excavation Robots Face Off

Posted by Soulskill on from the can-you-dig-it dept.

avishere writes "Student teams designed and built robotic power-lifters to excavate simulated lunar soil (a.k.a. 'regolith') earlier this month, with $750,000 in prizes up for grabs. Excavating regolith, according to NASA, will be an important part of any construction projects or processing of natural resources on the Moon. Interestingly, regolith is especially difficult to dig because its dust particles want to stick together. The whole robotic system has to be sturdy enough to scoop moon dirt and powerful enough to move through the dust while still meeting the weight requirements. The winning excavator, from Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Massachusetts, lifted 1,103 pounds within the allotted time, and got its creators a sweet $500,000 for their troubles."

7 of 61 comments (clear)

  1. Maybe NASA is so 1960's by kurt555gs · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I am wondering if the money being spent on a manned space program is just wasted. With the davances in robotics, we could be scooping up Martian soil, Europan ice, and goo from Saturn's moons and bringing it home for a fraction of putting a man on Mars.

    Unless we get volunteers for a one way manned Martian mission, I think the money should be put into advanced robot probes.

     

    --
    * Carthago Delenda Est *
    1. Re:Maybe NASA is so 1960's by Geoffrey.landis · · Score: 3, Insightful

      I am wondering if the money being spent on a manned space program is just wasted. With the davances in robotics, we could be scooping up Martian soil, Europan ice, and goo from Saturn's moons and bringing it home for a fraction of putting a man on Mars.

      These are not, or shouldn't be, mutually exclusive. Clearly picking up a sample of Martian soil and bringing it back to Earth is going to prove out some technologies that are useful for human missions.

      Robots and humans can, and should, work together. But, ultimately, it's not about the robots-- it's about us. The goal should be extending our civilization out beyond the Earth.

      (...and, in a final comment, let me note that you may be vastly optimistic about how hard it is to return samples from the Jupiter and Saturn systems. These are some very very difficult missions.)

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      http://www.geoffreylandis.com
  2. Moon Carbon Credits. by cosm · · Score: 3, Funny

    But what about moon-riot control? Hopefully those lifter-bots are programmed with empathy towards the moon-hippies that chain themselves to their moon rocks. I wonder if there will be an Earth movement along the lines of, well, I guess, 'Grey-Peace' moon hippies against what ever strip-mine ore acquiring process that is eventually developed.

    If a Molotov cocktail is thrown in space, does it make a noise?

    Only Al Gore will know.

    --
    'We are trying to prove ourselves wrong as quickly as possible, because only in that way can we find progress.' RPF
    1. Re:Moon Carbon Credits. by arielCo · · Score: 3, Funny
      Dear Mr./Mrs. cosm,

      On behalf of the Society for the Advancement of Humour through Awkward Reframing, I'd like to convey our admiration for your tenacious and comprehensive example of this not so fine art. We'd be pleased to have you as an Honorary Member.

      --
      This post contains no rudeness or derision of any kind. All arguments are friendly. Terms and exclusions may apply.
  3. something missing by arielCo · · Score: 4, Insightful

    There's no mention of the additional challenge presented by the mechanical properties of lunar regolith. Since there's no wind or liquid water, the grains of "sand" have been formed only by breaking up larger pebbles and have not been eroded since, so they're rather jagged and very abrasive.

    In other words, imagine your garden-variety backhoe or skid loader digging through finely ground glass - you'll pray to @DEITIES for its gaskets and bearings.

    --
    This post contains no rudeness or derision of any kind. All arguments are friendly. Terms and exclusions may apply.
    1. Re:something missing by John+Hasler · · Score: 3, Insightful

      > Yup - gaskets, flexible boots and such. But they have limited effectiveness > since there's some sliding action exposed to the nasty elements.

      There doesn't have to be except at the wheels.

      Gas jets could be used to blow seals clear. Shouldn't take much gas. Or maybe positive pressure on the inside of each seal and a very slightly leaky seal so that there is a constant outward flow of gas or lubricant when the bearing is in motion to carry contaminants away.

      A search for "self cleaning seals" gets lots of hits.

      --
      Warning: this article may contain humor, sarcasm, parody, and perhaps even irony. Read at your own risk.
  4. The next step... by Baron_Yam · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Regardless of the speed and mass abilities of the excavators, I'd be interested in seeing a system that can excavate, process, and create something from simulated regolith in a high-static, near-vacuum environment.

    Specifically, I recall seeing articles about how it might be easy to create low-efficiency solar cells and a form of concrete from regolith.

    Assuming that works, I'd like to see a 'bot that can dig up some regolith, make a concrete igloo big enough to be useful, and cover it and the surroundings with solar cells. I suppose we're decades away from that...