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A breakthrough for space exploration! NASA's new robot can excavate up to 10 kg of lunar rock per day, facilitating future missions to the Moon
NASA has revealed the workings of one of its most ambitious projects: the lunar mining robot IPEx, or Pilot In-Situ Resource Utilization Excavator.
The machine will be a milestone in lunar exploration, allowing the excavation of resources directly from the surface of the Moon, which could represent a breakthrough for human maintenance on Earth's natural satellite.
Double efficiency
IPEx is a robotic system with tractor and dump truck functions, designed to mine and transport lunar regolith – the rocky material that covers the surface of the Moon.
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Regolith contains essential resources such as hydrogen, oxygen and even water that can be extracted and used to sustain human presence in space.
According to Jason Schuler, IPEx project manager and principal investigator at Kennedy Space Center, the project is a testament to NASA's commitment to developing cutting-edge technology to enable increasingly self-sufficient lunar exploration.
Innovative bucket drums
To accomplish its task, IPEx employs an innovative design: hollow rotating cylinders with paddles, called bucket drums.
These counter-rotating drums are designed to reduce force feedback, which allows the system to operate efficiently in the reduced gravity of the Moon.
The great advantage of this system is the ability to excavate up to 10.000 kg of regolith per lunar day, which is equivalent to the weight of 20 adult elephants – a great improvement over previous missions that managed to collect only a fraction of this amount.
This excavation capability is essential for in-situ resource utilization (ISRU) operations, which seek to extract oxygen directly from lunar regolith.
Oxygen is vital for life support and can also be used as fuel for future space missions.
Eugene Schwanbeck, IPEx program element manager, points out that the counter-rotating drum design allows a machine to maintain a low mass while solving the challenges of excavation in lunar gravity.
Advanced technology at NASA for a successful lunar mission
In addition to the innovative drum design, IPEx is equipped with cutting-edge technologies that increase the robot’s efficiency. NASA has included a Camera and Dust Mitigation system, which is crucial for navigation and clear vision on the lunar surface, which is covered by a thin layer of dust.
The robot also features a Mobility System, which allows movement on uneven and slippery terrain, a Thermal Control System to deal with the extreme temperature variations on the Moon, and a Regolith Delivery System, which uses drums and mechanical arms to transport the collected material.
To ensure maximum performance, IPEx uses advanced algorithms that enable greater precision and reliability during your transactions.
Testing in simulated environments
In March of last year, NASA tested IPEx's autonomy by simulating the Moon's extreme lighting and terrain conditions in a lunar rock yard.
This test was essential to ensure that the robot would be able to operate autonomously in the lunar environment, where communication with Earth can be difficult.
NASA’s new IPEx robot is an adaptable machine with a modular design that allows for adjustments and modifications to meet the demands of different lunar missions. This modular approach reduces cost and complexity, ensuring the system can be easily tested on Earth before being sent into space.
With information from IE.
