This an interesting digger. Almost a toy but about 100 pounds.
I will include a few links that go back a few years.
It seems like we hear about them when it is politically correct, then the mood changes.
- LRK -
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RASSOR, The Moon Mining Robot
- Source: NASA HQ
- Posted Saturday, February 2, 2013
After decades of designing and operating robots full of scientific gear to study other worlds, NASA is working on a prototype that leaves the delicate instruments at home in exchange for a sturdy pair of diggers and the reliability and strength to work all day, every day for years.
Think of it as a blue collar robot.
Dubbed RASSOR, for Regolith Advanced Surface Systems Operations Robot and pronounced "razor," the autonomous machine is far from space-ready, but the earliest design has shown engineers the broad strokes of what their lunar soil excavator needs in order to operate reliably.
"We were surprised at what we could do with it," said Rachel Cox, a Kennedy Space Center engineer on the RASSOR team.
The primary challenge for any digging robot operating off Earth is that they have to be light and small enough to fly on a rocket, but heavy enough to operate in gravity lower than that of Earth.
"The lighter you make your robot, the more difficult it is to do this excavating," said A.J. Nick, an engineer on the RASSOR team.
Think of it as a blue collar robot.
Dubbed RASSOR, for Regolith Advanced Surface Systems Operations Robot and pronounced "razor," the autonomous machine is far from space-ready, but the earliest design has shown engineers the broad strokes of what their lunar soil excavator needs in order to operate reliably.
"We were surprised at what we could do with it," said Rachel Cox, a Kennedy Space Center engineer on the RASSOR team.
The primary challenge for any digging robot operating off Earth is that they have to be light and small enough to fly on a rocket, but heavy enough to operate in gravity lower than that of Earth.
"The lighter you make your robot, the more difficult it is to do this excavating," said A.J. Nick, an engineer on the RASSOR team.
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At NASA in January 2013.
- LRK -
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Engineers Building Hard-working Mining Robot
Think of it as a blue collar robot.
Dubbed RASSOR, for Regolith Advanced Surface Systems Operations Robot and pronounced "razor," the autonomous machine is far from space-ready, but the earliest design has shown engineers the broad strokes of what their lunar soil excavator needs in order to operate reliably.
"We were surprised at what we could do with it," said Rachel Cox, a Kennedy Space Center engineer on the RASSOR team.
The primary challenge for any digging robot operating off Earth is that they have to be light and small enough to fly on a rocket, but heavy enough to operate in gravity lower than that of Earth.
"The lighter you make your robot, the more difficult it is to do this excavating," said A.J. Nick, an engineer on the RASSOR team.
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NASA KSC FALL/WINTER NEWS
- LRK -
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volume 4, number 2 - 12 pages
FALL/WINTER 2011
KSC NEWS - tech transfer
A message from the KSC Chief Technologist
As the Chief Technologist of the John F. Kennedy Space Center, I view this as an exciting time in NASA for research and technology development. There is a strong focus on technology in our human exploration strategy and a focus on a wide range of technology readiness levels (TRLs) across all NASA missions – from low-TRL development of innovative technological concepts that help reposition NASA on the cutting edge, to infusion of technology to solve critical mission needs. Throughout the TRL spectrum, there is a major emphasis on partnerships with academia, industry, and other Government agencies and among NASA Centers.
This strong focus in research and technology helps NASA balance three longstanding core competencies that go back to the Space Act and the formation of NASA. These three core competencies are research and technology development, flight hardware development, and mission operations. The synergy of these three core competencies makes NASA unique and is the reason NASA is so inspiring to young people. Without the research and technology competency, we can only take a rather incremental approach to flight hardware development. We can be much more successful if we are able to conduct what many refer to as “disruptive technology development,” which enables major advances. A number of external panels, including a recent National Research Council committee, have reported that, over the past decade, research and technology at NASA have been almost wiped out and need to be reinvigorated. A healthy NASA on the cutting edge should be strong in research and technology, in spaceflight hardware development, and in mission operations.
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p. 6
Granular Mechanics and Regolith Laboratory
Phil Metzger, Ph.D., likes to remember the interns whose lives were changed by working in the Granular Mechanics and Regolith Lab. His first intern wasn’t sure what she wanted to do with her life, but she had so much fun working in the dirt at Kennedy Space Center that she is now a Ph.D. candidate focusing on granular mechanics at the University of Colorado in Boulder. She is just one example. Phil thinks there is only so much work that we can do in our careers, but by influencing young people, we leave a legacy that goes on long after we retire. Recently, Kennedy Tech Transfer News visited with Dr. Metzger and learned of the lab’s current projects, memorable successes, and work for the future.
What does the Granular Mechanics and Regolith Operations Group do within the Surface Systems Office? The GMRO lab develops technologies primarily related to regolith – that is, excavation, conveyance (in and out of chemical processors), manufacturing and construction with regolith, site preparation, landing pad construction, prediction of rocket exhaust blast effects, etc.
Why is granular mechanics so important? Almost every place humans can land in space is covered with regolith. We will need to land on it, drive on it, dig in it, build with it, extract resources from it, and study it for scientific information. In the inner solar system, regolith is primarily broken rock, such as silicate and basaltic minerals. In the outer solar system, the regolith is made of ice. However, the difference between rock and ice is a merely human definition – rock melts above our body temperature while ice melts below our body temperature; otherwise, they are the same. The regolith of Titan (the largest moon of Saturn) has sand grains, pebbles, and rocks, all made of solid-phase water, which are blown into dunes by cold nitrogen winds and washed along riverbanks of flowing liquid methane. In its mechanical behavior, this regolith performs just like sand grains, pebbles, and rocks on Earth.
The mechanics of regolith is arguably the last great unknown field in everyday physics. We have deep theoretical understanding of electromagnetics, fluid dynamics, optics, solid mechanics, quantum mechanics, stellar physics, and cosmology but no such understanding of granular mechanics.
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And as found on the NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
- LRK -
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Regolith Advanced Surface Systems
Operations Robot (RASSOR)
Abstract-Regolith is abundant on extra-terrestrial surfaces and is the source of many resources such as oxygen, hydrogen, titanium, aluminum, iron, silica and other valuable materials, which can be used to make rocket propellant, consumables for life support, radiation protection barrier shields, landing pads, blast protection berms, roads, habitats and other structures and devices. Recent data from the Moon also indicates that there are substantial deposits of water ice in permanently shadowed crater regions and possibly under an over burden of regolith. The key to being able to use this regolith and acquire the resources, is being able to manipulate it with robotic excavation and hauling machinery that can survive and operate in these very extreme extra-terrestrial surface environments.
In addition, the reduced gravity on the Moon, Mars, comets and asteroids poses a significant challenge in that the necessary reaction force for digging cannot be provided by the robot's weight as is typically done on Earth. Space transportation is expensive and limited in capacity, so small, lightweight payloads are desirable, which means large traditional excavation machines are not a viable option. A novel, compact and lightweight excavation robot prototype for manipulating, excavating, acquiring, hauling and dumping regolith on extra-terrestrial surfaces has been developed and tested. Lessons learned and test results will be presented including digging in a variety of lunar regolith simulant conditions including frozen regolith mixed with water ice
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. INTRODUCTION ..............................
2. REGOLITH EXCAVATION NEEDS ...................... ...l
3. RASSOR CONCEPT OF OPERATIONS ................ 2
4. RASSOR GENERATION I REQUIREMENTS .......... 2
5. RASSOR GENERATION 1: DESIGN SOLUTION .... 3
6. TEST RESULTS ..............................
7. LESSONS LEARNED AND GOOD PRACTICES .... 6
8. SUMMARY ..............................
REFERENCES ..............................
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p. 3
[See RASSOR at a big pile with trees in background to give you some idea of size. - LRK -]
Figure 2 - RASSOR field test in October 2012.
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Watch your kids dig in the sand pile for new ideas. Hmm, maybe kids don't play outside anymore.
Such a strong looking green cast iron tractor sitting on my bookshelf. Rubber wheels worn out from my play as a kid.
- LRK -
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A Review of Extra-Terrestrial Mining Robot Concepts
R. P. MuellerI and P. J. van Susante2
ABSTRACT
Outer space contains a vast amount of resources that offer virtually unlimited wealth to the humans
that can access and use them for commercial purposes. One of the key technologies for harvesting
these resources is robotic mining of regolith, minerals, ices and metals. The harsh environment and
vast distances create challenges that are handled best by robotic machines working in collaboration
with human explorers. Humans will benefit from the resources that will be mined by robots. They
will visit outposts and mining camps as required for exploration, commerce and scientific research,
but a continuous presence is most likely to be provided by robotic mining machines that are
remotely controlled by humans.
There have been a variety of extra-terrestrial robotic mining concepts proposed over the last 40
years and this paper will attempt to summarize and review concepts in the public domain
(government, industry and academia) to serve as an informational resource for future mining robot
developers and operators. The challenges associated with these concepts will be discussed and
feasibility will be assessed. Future needs associated with commercial efforts will also be
investigated.
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NASA In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU)
Development & Incorporation Plans
Presentation at Technology Exchange Conference
Nov. 2007, Galveston, TX
Contents:
What is ISRU?
What do our customers want?
ISRU Project Organization
ISRU Technology Needs
ISRU Related Technical Areas
Existing and Potential Partnerships
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WHAT THE MIND CAN CONCEIVE, AND BELIEVE, IT WILL ACHIEVE - LRK -
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