1. Honeybee Robotics, 398 W Washington Blvd, Suite 200, Pasadena, CA 91103;2. Colorado School of Mines, 1600 Illinois St., Golden, CO 80401, United States;3. Advanced Superabrasives Inc., 1270 N. Main Street, Mars Hill, NC 28754
Abstract:
We have developed a rock grinding and polishing mechanism for in situ planetary exploration based on abrasive disks, called Grinding Rocks Into Thin Sections (GRITS). Performance characteristics and design considerations of GRITS are presented. GRITS was developed as part of a broader effort to develop an in situ automated rock thin section (ISARTS) instrument. The objective of IS-ARTS was to develop an instrument capable of producing petrographic rock thin sections on a planetary science spacecraft. GRITS may also be useful to other planetary science missions with in situ instruments in which rock surface preparation are necessary.