CESAR: A lunar crater exploration and sample return robot

Autor: Alexander Dieterle, Steffen Schmidt, Thilo Kaupisch, Mehmed Yuksel, Felix Grimminger, Sebastian Bartsch, Jakob Schwendner, Andreas Bresser, Frank Kirchner, Michael K.-G. Seydel, Joel Akpo
Rok vydání: 2009
Předmět:
Zdroj: IROS
DOI: 10.1109/iros.2009.5354353
Popis: Suspicion of water ice deposits in the lunar south-polar region have sparked new interest into the earth's smaller companion, and robotic crater sample return missions are being considered by a number of space agencies. The difficult terrain with an inclination of over 30°, eternal darkness and temperatures of less than −173°C make this a difficult task. In this paper we present a novel, bio-inspired light-weight system design, which demonstrates a possible approach for such a mission. The robot managed to come first in the Lunar Robotic Challenge (LRC), organised by the European Space Agency (ESA) in October 2008. Using a remote operated robot, we demonstrated to climb into and out of a lunar-like crater with inclination of more than 35° on loose substrate, and performed the collection and delivery of a 100g soil sample without the aid of external illumination.
Databáze: OpenAIRE