Drilling load modeling and validation based on the filling rate of auger flute in planetary sampling

Some type of penetration into a subsurface is required in planetary sampling. Drilling and coring, due to its efficient penetrating and cuttings removal characteristics, has been widely applied in previous sampling missions. Given the complicated mechanical properties of a planetary regolith, suitable drilling parameters should be matched with different drilling formations properly. Otherwise, drilling faults caused by overloads could easily happen. Hence, it is necessary to estab-lish a drilling load model, which is able to reveal the relationships among drilling loads, an auger's structural parameters, soil's mechanical properties, and relevant drilling parameters. A concept for the filling rate of auger flute (FRAF) is proposed to describe drilling conditions. If the FRAF index under one group of drilling parameters is less than 1, this means that the auger flute currently removes cuttings smoothly. Otherwise, the auger will be choked with compressed cuttings. In dril-ling operations, the drilling loads on the auger mainly come from the conveyance action, while the drilling loads on the drill bit primarily come from the cutting action. Experiments in one typical lunar regolith simulant indicate that the estimated drilling loads based on the FRAF coincide with the test results quite well. Based on this drilling load model, drilling parameters have been opti-mized.     

Design and experimental performance verification of a thermal property test-bed for lunar drilling exploration

Chinese Chang'e lunar exploration project aims to collect and return subsurface lunar soil samples at a minimum penetration depth of 2 m in 2017. However, in contrast to those on the Earth, automated drilling and sampling missions on the Moon raise the risk of burning bits.Test-beds are required for testing the thermal properties of drill tools in a lunar environment. In this paper, a novel temperature measuring method based on thermocouples and a slip ring was proposed. Furthermore, a data acquisition system for a drilling process was designed. A vacuous,cryogenic, and anhydrous soil environment simulating the lunar surface was established. A drilling test-bed that can reach a depth of 2.2 m was developed. A control strategy based on online monitoring signals was proposed to improve the drilling performance. Vacuum and non-vacuum experiments were performed to test the temperature rising effect on drill tools. When compared with the non-vacuum experiment, the vacuum temperature rise resulted in a 12 °C increase. These experimental results provide significant support for Chinese lunar exploration missions.     

Analysis of Chang’e-5 lunar core drilling process

Chang’e-5 explorer successfully acquired lunar regolith core samples from depths of greater than 1 m of lunar surface. This study analyzed the lunar core drilling process based on the telemetry data, image information, and returned samples to optimize the sampling device design and enhance the understanding of the lunar regolith. In particular, a prediction method for the projected drilling path and local terrain fitting of drilling dip angle was proposed based on the flight events recorded during the core drilling process and the image information acquired before, during, and after sampling. The results revealed that the drilling dip angle of Chang’e-5 was approximately 2.3°, and the deviation of the drilling length and depth was less than 2 mm. For continuous drilling, a fusion method based on telemetry data and image information was applied to determine the demarcation point of drilling with and without the lunar soil. The position of the demarcation point implied that the drilling point remained at approximately 6 mm loose soil, thereby lagging the action of the force response. Additionally, a characteristic parameter comparison method was proposed for the lunar and ground drilling to analyze the status of the lunar soil. Furthermore, the analysis results revealed that the majority of the Chang’e-5 drilling samples were derived from 0–73.8 cm below the lunar surface and few samples were extracted below 73.8 cm, as the drilling encountered several rocky regions. Moreover, the drilling point exhibited two prominent stratification variations at ～28.7 cm and ～70 cm below the lunar surface. Ultimately, the preliminary relationship between sample dissected position in soft tube and drilling displacement was analyzed. The segmented estimation results can support research on subsurface lunar soil.     

月球钻取采样机构的钻杆结构与运动参数分析

针对月球钻取式自动采样机构空心外螺旋钻杆取样过程,分别建立了月壤内聚力和月壤内摩擦系数随月壤深度变化的数学模型,建立了钻进过程中钻杆运动参数(钻进速度和钻杆转速)与钻杆结构参数(钻杆螺旋升角、外径、槽宽比和螺旋槽深等)之间的关系。建模过程考虑了月壤物理和机械特性随钻进深度变化特性、钻杆钻进牵连速度及月壤微元相互间的抗剪性,使得钻杆参数符合月球钻取采样的实际工况。对模型进行了验证,利用该模型开展了钻杆结构参数对运动参数的影响分析,给出了钻杆结构参数对钻杆运动参数的影响规律,获得了钻杆结构参数的最佳取值范围。以钻杆转速与钻进速度比最小为优化目标,以结构参数为设计变量,基于遗传算法对钻杆结构参数进行了优化,优化后的钻杆转速与转进速度比降低了13.8%。该优化结果降低了系统能耗,提高了钻取采样输月壤效率,可为钻取式自动采样机构的设计提供理论依据。     

Multi-state autonomous drilling for lunar exploration

Due to the lack of information of subsurface lunar regolith stratification which varies along depth, the drilling device may encounter lunar soil and lunar rock randomly in the drilling process. To meet the load safety requirements of unmanned sampling mission under limited orbital resources, the control strategy of autonomous drilling should adapt to the indeterminable lunar environments. Based on the analysis of two types of typical drilling media (i.e., lunar soil and lunar rock), this paper proposes a multi-state control strategy for autonomous lunar drilling. To represent the working circumstances in the lunar subsurface and reduce the complexity of the control algo-rithm, lunar drilling process was categorized into three drilling states:the interface detection, initi-ation of drilling parameters for recognition and drilling medium recognition. Support vector machine (SVM) and continuous wavelet transform were employed for the online recognition of dril-ling media and interface, respectively. Finite state machine was utilized to control the transition among different drilling states. To verify the effectiveness of the multi-state control strategy, drilling experiments were implemented with multi-layered drilling media constructed by lunar soil simulant and lunar rock simulant. The results reveal that the multi-state control method is capable of detect-ing drilling state variation and adjusting drilling parameters timely under vibration interferences. The multi-state control method provides a feasible reference for the control of extraterrestrial autonomous drilling.     

不同粒径分布模拟月壤承压特性试验研究

月壤的承压特性决定月面巡视探测器的行驶阻力和沉陷,是影响月面可通过性的主要特征之一。为了得出不同粒径分布的模拟月壤在巡视器地面载荷和月面载荷下的承压特性,通过压板试验获取了3种不同粒径分布模拟月壤的承压性能曲线与参数。分析表明:粒径分布对模拟月壤承压性能影响大,粒径粗且分布均匀的JLU-1模拟月壤承压能力最强,其次为JLU-3模拟月壤,而粒径细且分布窄的JLU-2模拟月壤承压能力最弱;3种模拟月壤的变形指数在其他模拟月壤的范围内,松软状态时接近月壤值,在小载荷作用且松软状态时变形指数小于1;3种模拟月壤的内聚模量在其他模拟月壤的范围内,但大于月壤值;松软状态时3种模拟月壤的摩擦模量在其他模拟月壤的范围内,中密和密实状态下均大于月壤值。研究结果对月面探测器行走机构的仿真和路径规划具有参考意义。     

Synthesis and characterization of geopolymer from lunar regolith simulant based on natural volcanic scoria

In this study, a new GVS（Ground Volcanic Scoria） lunar regolith simulant was produced. The similarity between GVS and lunar soil was proved by comparison with Apollo lunar soil samples and other commercial lunar soil simulants. Then, GVS lunar regolith simulant was investigated as the source material for preparing geopolymer to produce building material for lunar colony construction. To study the possibility of preparing geopolymer from GVS lunar regolith simulant and the optimum activator formu...     

The Lunar Radar Sounder (LRS) Onboard the KAGUYA (SELENE) Spacecraft

The Lunar Radar Sounder (LRS) onboard the KAGUYA (SELENE) spacecraft has successfully performed radar sounder observations of the lunar subsurface structures and passive observations of natural radio and plasma waves from the lunar orbit. After the transfer of the spacecraft into the final lunar orbit and antenna deployment, the operation of LRS started on October 29, 2007. Through the operation until June 10, 2009, 2363 hours worth of radar sounder data and 8961 hours worth of natural radio and plasma wave data have been obtained. It was revealed through radar sounder observations that there are distinct reflectors at a depth of several hundred meters in the nearside maria, which are inferred to be buried regolith layers covered by a basalt layer with a thickness of several hundred meters. Radar sounder data were obtained not only in the nearside maria but also in other regions such as the farside highland region and polar region. LRS also performed passive observations of natural plasma waves associated with interaction processes between the solar wind plasma and the moon, and the natural waves from the Earth, the sun, and Jupiter. Natural radio waves such as auroral kilometric radiation (AKR) with interference patterns caused by the lunar surface reflections, and Jovian hectometric (HOM) emissions were detected. Intense electrostatic plasma waves around 20 kHz were almost always observed at local electron plasma frequency in the solar wind, and the electron density profile, including the lunar wake boundary, was derived along the spacecraft trajectory. Broadband noises below several kHz were frequently observed in the dayside and wake boundary of the moon and it was found that a portion of them consist of bipolar pulses. The datasets obtained by LRS will make contributions for studies on the lunar geology and physical processes of natural radio and plasma wave generation and propagation.     

月球风化层钻取采样过程密实度分类研究

钻取采样是月球风化层土壤样品获取的重要方式,密实度是重要的风化层月壤原位特性,对钻进过程中的策略制定有重要影响。本文结合钻取采样过程特点,提出了通过采样机构的力、速度、电流、温度等传感器获取的瞬时信息感知月壤密实度的方法,利用深度学习方法构建一类适应于可变长度序列数据的门控型循环神经网络,实现钻进过程月壤密实度在线分类。研究表明,该分类方法在风化层钻进过程中月壤密实度感知滞后时间约为33 s,对未知序列数据识别正确率大于89.36%,具有较高的分类精度和泛化能力。     

New design of a compact aero-robotic drilling end effector: An experimental analysis

This paper presents the development of a normal adjustment cell (NAC) in aero-robotic drilling to improve the quality of vertical drilling, by using an intelligent double-eccentric disk nor-mal adjustment mechanism (2-EDNA), a spherical plain bearing and a floating compress module with sensors. After the surface normal vector is calculated based on the laser sensors’ feedback, the 2-EDNA concept is conceived specifically to address the deviation of the spindle from the sur-face normal at the drilling point. Following the angle calculation, depending on the actual initial position, two precise eccentric disks (PEDs) with an identical eccentric radius are used to rotate with the appropriate angles using two high-resolution DC servomotors. The two PEDs will carry the spindle to coincide with the surface normal, keeping the vertex of the drill bit still to avoid repeated adjustment and position compensation. A series of experiments was conducted on an aeronautical drilling robot platform with a precise NAC. The effect of normal adjustment on bore diameter, dril-ling force, burr size, drilling heat, and tool wear was analyzed. The results validate that using the NAC in robotic drilling results in greatly improved vertical drilling quality and is attainable in terms of intelligence and accuracy.     

Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Overview: The Instrument Suite and Mission

NASA’s Lunar Precursor Robotic Program (LPRP), formulated in response to the President’s Vision for Space Exploration, will execute a series of robotic missions that will pave the way for eventual permanent human presence on the Moon. The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) is first in this series of LPRP missions, and plans to launch in October of 2008 for at least one year of operation. LRO will employ six individual instruments to produce accurate maps and high-resolution images of future landing sites, to assess potential lunar resources, and to characterize the radiation environment. LRO will also test the feasibility of one advanced technology demonstration package. The LRO payload includes: Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter (LOLA) which will determine the global topography of the lunar surface at high resolution, measure landing site slopes, surface roughness, and search for possible polar surface ice in shadowed regions, Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera (LROC) which will acquire targeted narrow angle images of the lunar surface capable of resolving meter-scale features to support landing site selection, as well as wide-angle images to characterize polar illumination conditions and to identify potential resources, Lunar Exploration Neutron Detector (LEND) which will map the flux of neutrons from the lunar surface to search for evidence of water ice, and will provide space radiation environment measurements that may be useful for future human exploration, Diviner Lunar Radiometer Experiment (DLRE) which will chart the temperature of the entire lunar surface at approximately 300 meter horizontal resolution to identify cold-traps and potential ice deposits, Lyman-Alpha Mapping Project (LAMP) which will map the entire lunar surface in the far ultraviolet. LAMP will search for surface ice and frost in the polar regions and provide images of permanently shadowed regions illuminated only by starlight. Cosmic Ray Telescope for the Effects of Radiation (CRaTER), which will investigate the effect of galactic cosmic rays on tissue-equivalent plastics as a constraint on models of biological response to background space radiation. The technology demonstration is an advanced radar (mini-RF) that will demonstrate X- and S-band radar imaging and interferometry using light weight synthetic aperture radar. This paper will give an introduction to each of these instruments and an overview of their objectives.     

Comparative study of lunar mission requirements and onboard propulsion system performance

In recent years, the lunar explorer programs, suspended for a long time, have resumed again with the rapid development of low cost and high-level technologies. As a result, several nations have made a success of lunar exploration programs with their own orbiters. Unlike a satellite orbiting the earth, the optimal design of an onboard propulsion system of a lunar orbiter is a major issue because it is not simple to make the orbiter arrive accurately at another planet far from the earth. Hence, a close attention is required to select and develop an appropriate type of the onboard propulsion system based on given mission requirements of a lunar orbiter. To do this, this study first surveys several lunar orbiters launched since 1990 and their major mission requirements. Then, it summarizes the technical trends of the onboard propulsion systems of the recent lunar orbiters and their key design and performance specifications through trade-off studies. By comparing these features, the present study investigates which lunar mission requirements are critically important, and how they can effect on the overall performance of an onboard propulsion system. Based on these investigations the major objective of the present study intends ultimately to set up a fundamental baseline in selecting and developing an appropriate type of onboard propulsion system of a lunar orbiter.     

月球探测卫星的轨道支持

主要讨论采用月球卫星的探测方式时，月球探测器对测控系统的轨道支持要求和实现手段。重点对月球卫星转移轨道段的轨道测量和确定方法进行研究，利用仿真的地面站的测距和测角资料进行了定轨误差分析。     

基于ZUPT的新型月面导航处理方法

为了解决探测器在月面工作时惯性导航系统的误差累积问题,克服现有研究对环境敏感或是需要定期停止才能进行误差修复的短板,结合探测器的行驶行为,将探测器使用零速更新（ZUPT）原理修正误差的过程分解成了无ZUPT、完全ZUPT、水平动态ZUPT和垂向动态ZUPT 4种子模型的叠加,并分别推导了它们的系统矩阵和测量矩阵。针对月面导航系统提出了一种新型多模型零速更新（MMZUPT）算法。该算法应用多模型交互原理,允许多种更新模型同时工作,可以通过计算每个模型的权重在每个定位历元输出最优导航结果并约束误差。在精心挑选的受限环境中对月面导航进行了模拟实验,结果表明,所提MMZUPT方法无需频繁地主动停车以满足传统ZUPT使用边界就可以取得良好的效果,并且通过对包含错误的校准信号加以识别和利用可以获得更好的性能。     

影响环月飞行器定轨精度的误差源分析

以我国正在实施的探月计划“嫦娥1号”工程为背案,在现有测控网分布、观测弧段以及尽可能接近真实情况的误差源等前提下,利用仿真模拟的方法对影响环月飞行器定轨精度的误差源进行了初步探讨和分析。重点考察了月球重力场误差、观测量精度、初始时刻的先验轨道误差以及观测资料类型等对环月飞行器定轨精度的影响。     

Lunar Exploration Neutron Detector for the NASA Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter

The design of the Lunar Exploration Neutron Detector (LEND) experiment is presented, which was optimized to address several of the primary measurement requirements of NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO): high spatial resolution hydrogen mapping of the Moon’s upper-most surface, identification of putative deposits of appreciable near-surface water ice in the Moon’s polar cold traps, and characterization of the human-relevant space radiation environment in lunar orbit. A comprehensive program of LEND instrument physical calibrations is discussed and the baseline scenario of LEND observations from the primary LRO lunar orbit is presented. LEND data products will be useful for determining the next stages of the emerging global lunar exploration program, and they will facilitate the study of the physics of hydrogen implantation and diffusion in the regolith, test the presence of water ice deposits in lunar cold polar traps, and investigate the role of neutrons within the radiation environment of the shallow lunar surface.     

Mercury’s Weather-Beaten Surface: Understanding Mercury in the Context of Lunar and Asteroidal Space Weathering Studies

Mercury’s regolith, derived from the crustal bedrock, has been altered by a set of space weathering processes. Before we can interpret crustal composition, it is necessary to understand the nature of these surface alterations. The processes that space weather the surface are the same as those that form Mercury’s exosphere (micrometeoroid flux and solar wind interactions) and are moderated by the local space environment and the presence of a global magnetic field. To comprehend how space weathering acts on Mercury’s regolith, an understanding is needed of how contributing processes act as an interactive system. As no direct information (e.g., from returned samples) is available about how the system of space weathering affects Mercury’s regolith, we use as a basis for comparison the current understanding of these same processes on lunar and asteroidal regoliths as well as laboratory simulations. These comparisons suggest that Mercury’s regolith is overturned more frequently (though the characteristic surface time for a grain is unknown even relative to the lunar case), more than an order of magnitude more melt and vapor per unit time and unit area is produced by impact processes than on the Moon (creating a higher glass content via grain coatings and agglutinates), the degree of surface irradiation is comparable to or greater than that on the Moon, and photon irradiation is up to an order of magnitude greater (creating amorphous grain rims, chemically reducing the upper layers of grains to produce nanometer-scale particles of metallic iron, and depleting surface grains in volatile elements and alkali metals). The processes that chemically reduce the surface and produce nanometer-scale particles on Mercury are suggested to be more effective than similar processes on the Moon. Estimated abundances of nanometer-scale particles can account for Mercury’s dark surface relative to that of the Moon without requiring macroscopic grains of opaque minerals. The presence of nanometer-scale particles may also account for Mercury’s relatively featureless visible–near-infrared reflectance spectra. Characteristics of material returned from asteroid 25143 Itokawa demonstrate that this nanometer-scale material need not be pure iron, raising the possibility that the nanometer-scale material on Mercury may have a composition different from iron metal [such as (Fe,Mg)S]. The expected depletion of volatiles and particularly alkali metals from solar-wind interaction processes are inconsistent with the detection of sodium, potassium, and sulfur within the regolith. One plausible explanation invokes a larger fine fraction (grain size <45 μm) and more radiation-damaged grains than in the lunar surface material to create a regolith that is a more efficient reservoir for these volatiles. By this view the volatile elements detected are present not only within the grain structures, but also as adsorbates within the regolith and deposits on the surfaces of the regolith grains. The comparisons with findings from the Moon and asteroids provide a basis for predicting how compositional modifications induced by space weathering have affected Mercury’s surface composition.     

CFRP复合材料超声振动套孔分层抑制机理分析

针对碳纤维增强复合材料在传统钻孔过程易出现分层缺陷,采用金刚石空心套刀和超声振动加工技术进行了CFRP超声振动套孔分层抑制机理分析。理论分析了传统麻花钻钻孔与金刚石套刀普通套孔过程的分层机理及评价,超声振动套孔对分层抑制的机理,并且进行了实验验证。结果表明:相比于CFRP普通套孔,超声振动套孔能够有效提高套刀切削性能和排屑效果,降低钻削力12.5%～19.2%,抑制切屑粉尘黏附套刀和料芯堵塞套刀,抑制CFRP分层缺陷形成,改善孔表面质量。     

Ground-based investigations on phase-moving phenomenon with space sublimation cooling for lunar exploration missions

The lunar surface is a typical vacuum environment, and its harsh heat rejection conditions bring great challenges to the thermal control technology of the exploration mission. In addition to the radiator, the sublimator is recommended as one of the promising options for heat rejection. The sublimator makes use of water to freeze and sublimate in a porous medium, rejecting heat to the vacuum environment. The complex heat and mass transfer process involves many physical phenomena such as the freezing and sublimation phase change of water in the porous medium and the movement of the phase-change interface. In this paper, the visualized ground-based experimental approaches of space sublimation cooling were presented to reveal the moving law of three-phase point and the growth phenomenon of ice-peak and icicle in microchannels under vacuum conditions. The visualized experiments and results prove that the freezing ice is divided into the porous ice-peak and the transparent icicle. As the sublimation progresses, the phase-change interface moves downward steadily, the length of the ice-peak increases, but the icicle decreases. The visualized experiments of space sublimation cooling in the capillary have guiding significance to reveal the sublimation cooling mechanism of water in the sublimator for lunar exploration missions.     

柱面气膜密封界面结构与性能分析

选择并针对柱面气膜密封中六种典型的螺旋槽派生界面结构,基于有限元数值分析方法进行了气膜力学特性及密封特性的定量计算和分析比较;建立了不同界面型式的密封特性与可压缩数、膜厚的关系曲线;研究分析了不同界面结构密封特性变化特点和应用中的优劣势,为密封系统研究和设计选型提供了理论基础及指导.分析中的每种密封界面结构参数均为依据有关文献选取的优化或近似优化数据,采用的计算分析方法可拓展应用到其他结构中.