Lori Shiraishi

MER Caching Rover for 2018 Exploration of Ancient Mars

LPICo, Jun 1, 2012

ABSTRACT A modern, minimally updated MER rover can begin sample return in 2018. We demonstrate ME... more

Manufacturing and Characterization of Icy Simulants for Europa

Rock Sample Destruction Limits for the Mars Sample Return Mission

AGUFM, Dec 1, 2012

Evaluating core quality for a Mars Sample Return Mission

Sample return missions, including the proposed Mars Sample Return (MSR) mission, propose to colle... more Sample return missions, including the proposed Mars Sample Return (MSR) mission, propose to collect core samples from scientifically valuable sites on Mars. These core samples would undergo extreme forces during the drilling process, and during the reentry process if the EEV (Earth Entry Vehicle) performed a hard landing on Earth. Because of the foreseen damage to the stratigraphy of the cores, it is important to evaluate each core for rock quality. However, because no core sample return mission has yet been conducted to another planetary body, it remains unclear as to how to assess the cores for rock quality. In this report, we describe the development of a metric designed to quantitatively assess the mechanical quality of any rock cores returned from Mars (or other planetary bodies). We report on the process by which we tested the metric on core samples of Mars analogue materials, and the effectiveness of the core assessment metric (CAM) in assessing rock core quality before and after the cores were subjected to shocking (g forces representative of an EEV landing).

Download

The Mechanical Attributes Characterization (MAC) Instrument: Linking Rock Properties to In-Situ Drill Data

Rotary Percussive Sample Acquisition Tool

As part of a potential Mars Sample Return campaign NASA is studying a sample caching mission to M... more As part of a potential Mars Sample Return campaign NASA is studying a sample caching mission to Mars, with a possible 2018 launch opportunity. As such, a Sample Acquisition Tool (SAT) has been developed in support of the Integrated Mars Sample Acquisition and Handling (IMSAH) architecture as it relates to the proposed Mars Sample Return (MSR) campaign. The tool allows for core generation and capture directly into a sample tube. In doing so, the sample tube becomes the fundamental handling element within the IMSAH sample chain reducing the risk associated with sample contamination as well as the need to handle a sample of unknown geometry. The tool's functionality was verified utilizing a proposed rock test suite that encompasses a series of rock types that have been utilized in the past to qualify Martian surface sampling hardware. The corresponding results have shown the tool can effectively generate, fracture, and capture rock cores while maintaining torque margins of no less than 50% with an average power consumption of no greater than 90W and a tool mass of less than 6kg.

Download

Dynamic Acquisition and Retrieval Tool (DART) for Comet Sample Return : Session: 2.06.Robotic Mobility and Sample Acquisition Systems

IEEE Aerospace Conference, Mar 2, 2013

ABSTRACT The 2011 Decadal Survey for planetary science released by the National Research Council ... more ABSTRACT The 2011 Decadal Survey for planetary science released by the National Research Council of the National Academies identified Comet Surface Sample Return (CSSR) as one of five high priority potential New Frontiers-class missions in the next decade. The main objectives of the research described in this publication are: develop a concept for an end-to-end system for collecting and storing a comet sample to be returned to Earth; design, fabricate and test a prototype Dynamic Acquisition and Retrieval Tool (DART) capable of collecting 500 cc sample in a canister and ejecting the canister with a predetermined speed; identify a set of simulants with physical properties at room temperature that suitably match the physical properties of the comet surface as it would be sampled. We propose the use of a DART that would be launched from the spacecraft to impact and penetrate the comet surface. After collecting the sample, the sample canister would be ejected at a speed greater than the comet&#39;s escape velocity and captured by the spacecraft, packaged into a return capsule and returned to Earth. The DART would be composed of an inner tube or sample canister, an outer tube, a decelerator, a means of capturing and retaining the sample, and a mechanism to eject the canister with the sample for later rendezvous with the spacecraft. One of the significant unknowns is the physical properties of the comet surface. Based on new findings from the recent Deep Impact comet encounter mission, we have limited our search of solutions for sampling materials to materials with 10 to 100 kPa shear strength in loose or consolidated form. As the possible range of values for the comet surface temperature is also significantly different than room temperature and testing at conditions other than the room temperature can become resource intensive, we sought sample simulants with physical properties at room temperature similar to the expected physical properties of the comet surface material. The chose- DART configuration, the efforts to identify a test simulant and the properties of these simulants, and the results of the preliminary testing will be described in this paper.

MER Caching Rover for 2018 Exploration of Ancient Mars

LPICo, Jun 1, 2012

ABSTRACT A modern, minimally updated MER rover can begin sample return in 2018. We demonstrate ME... more

Rock Sample Destruction Limits for the Mars Sample Return Mission

AGUFM, Dec 1, 2012

Evaluating core quality for a Mars Sample Return Mission

Sample return missions, including the proposed Mars Sample Return (MSR) mission, propose to colle... more Sample return missions, including the proposed Mars Sample Return (MSR) mission, propose to collect core samples from scientifically valuable sites on Mars. These core samples would undergo extreme forces during the drilling process, and during the reentry process if the EEV (Earth Entry Vehicle) performed a hard landing on Earth. Because of the foreseen damage to the stratigraphy of the cores, it is important to evaluate each core for rock quality. However, because no core sample return mission has yet been conducted to another planetary body, it remains unclear as to how to assess the cores for rock quality. In this report, we describe the development of a metric designed to quantitatively assess the mechanical quality of any rock cores returned from Mars (or other planetary bodies). We report on the process by which we tested the metric on core samples of Mars analogue materials, and the effectiveness of the core assessment metric (CAM) in assessing rock core quality before and after the cores were subjected to shocking (g forces representative of an EEV landing).

Download

Rotary Percussive Sample Acquisition Tool

As part of a potential Mars Sample Return campaign NASA is studying a sample caching mission to M... more As part of a potential Mars Sample Return campaign NASA is studying a sample caching mission to Mars, with a possible 2018 launch opportunity. As such, a Sample Acquisition Tool (SAT) has been developed in support of the Integrated Mars Sample Acquisition and Handling (IMSAH) architecture as it relates to the proposed Mars Sample Return (MSR) campaign. The tool allows for core generation and capture directly into a sample tube. In doing so, the sample tube becomes the fundamental handling element within the IMSAH sample chain reducing the risk associated with sample contamination as well as the need to handle a sample of unknown geometry. The tool's functionality was verified utilizing a proposed rock test suite that encompasses a series of rock types that have been utilized in the past to qualify Martian surface sampling hardware. The corresponding results have shown the tool can effectively generate, fracture, and capture rock cores while maintaining torque margins of no less than 50% with an average power consumption of no greater than 90W and a tool mass of less than 6kg.

Download

Dynamic Acquisition and Retrieval Tool (DART) for Comet Sample Return : Session: 2.06.Robotic Mobility and Sample Acquisition Systems

IEEE Aerospace Conference, Mar 2, 2013

ABSTRACT The 2011 Decadal Survey for planetary science released by the National Research Council ... more ABSTRACT The 2011 Decadal Survey for planetary science released by the National Research Council of the National Academies identified Comet Surface Sample Return (CSSR) as one of five high priority potential New Frontiers-class missions in the next decade. The main objectives of the research described in this publication are: develop a concept for an end-to-end system for collecting and storing a comet sample to be returned to Earth; design, fabricate and test a prototype Dynamic Acquisition and Retrieval Tool (DART) capable of collecting 500 cc sample in a canister and ejecting the canister with a predetermined speed; identify a set of simulants with physical properties at room temperature that suitably match the physical properties of the comet surface as it would be sampled. We propose the use of a DART that would be launched from the spacecraft to impact and penetrate the comet surface. After collecting the sample, the sample canister would be ejected at a speed greater than the comet&#39;s escape velocity and captured by the spacecraft, packaged into a return capsule and returned to Earth. The DART would be composed of an inner tube or sample canister, an outer tube, a decelerator, a means of capturing and retaining the sample, and a mechanism to eject the canister with the sample for later rendezvous with the spacecraft. One of the significant unknowns is the physical properties of the comet surface. Based on new findings from the recent Deep Impact comet encounter mission, we have limited our search of solutions for sampling materials to materials with 10 to 100 kPa shear strength in loose or consolidated form. As the possible range of values for the comet surface temperature is also significantly different than room temperature and testing at conditions other than the room temperature can become resource intensive, we sought sample simulants with physical properties at room temperature similar to the expected physical properties of the comet surface material. The chose- DART configuration, the efforts to identify a test simulant and the properties of these simulants, and the results of the preliminary testing will be described in this paper.

Icy Soil Acquisition Device for the 2007 Phoenix Mars Lander

The Icy Soil Acquisition Device is a first of its kind mechanism that is designed to acquire ice-... more The Icy Soil Acquisition Device is a first of its kind mechanism that is designed to acquire ice-bearing soil from the surface of the Martian polar region and transfer the samples to analytical instruments, playing a critical role in the potential discovery of existing water on Mars. The device incorporates a number of novel features that further the state of the art in spacecraft design for harsh environments, sample acquisition and handling, and high-speed low torque mechanism design.

Download

Icy Soil Acquisition Device for the 2007 Phoenix Mars Lander

The Icy Soil Acquisition Device is a first of its kind mechanism that is designed to acquire ice-... more The Icy Soil Acquisition Device is a first of its kind mechanism that is designed to acquire ice-bearing soil from the surface of the Martian polar region and transfer the samples to analytical instruments, playing a critical role in the potential discovery of existing water on Mars. The device incorporates a number of novel features that further the state of the art in spacecraft design for harsh environments, sample acquisition and handling, and high-speed low torque mechanism design.

Download

Development and testing of a rotary percussive Sample Acquisition Tool

Download

Dynamic acquisition and Retrieval Tool (DART) for comet sample return

ABSTRACT The 2011 Decadal Survey for planetary science released by the National Research Council ... more ABSTRACT The 2011 Decadal Survey for planetary science released by the National Research Council of the National Academies identified Comet Surface Sample Return (CSSR) as one of five high priority potential New Frontiers-class missions in the next decade. The main objectives of the research described in this publication are: develop a concept for an end-to-end system for collecting and storing a comet sample to be returned to Earth; design, fabricate and test a prototype Dynamic Acquisition and Retrieval Tool (DART) capable of collecting 500 cc sample in a canister and ejecting the canister with a predetermined speed; identify a set of simulants with physical properties at room temperature that suitably match the physical properties of the comet surface as it would be sampled. We propose the use of a DART that would be launched from the spacecraft to impact and penetrate the comet surface. After collecting the sample, the sample canister would be ejected at a speed greater than the comet&#39;s escape velocity and captured by the spacecraft, packaged into a return capsule and returned to Earth. The DART would be composed of an inner tube or sample canister, an outer tube, a decelerator, a means of capturing and retaining the sample, and a mechanism to eject the canister with the sample for later rendezvous with the spacecraft. One of the significant unknowns is the physical properties of the comet surface. Based on new findings from the recent Deep Impact comet encounter mission, we have limited our search of solutions for sampling materials to materials with 10 to 100 kPa shear strength in loose or consolidated form. As the possible range of values for the comet surface temperature is also significantly different than room temperature and testing at conditions other than the room temperature can become resource intensive, we sought sample simulants with physical properties at room temperature similar to the expected physical properties of the comet surface material. The chose- DART configuration, the efforts to identify a test simulant and the properties of these simulants, and the results of the preliminary testing will be described in this paper.

NASA Mars 2007 Phoenix Lander Robotic Arm and Icy Soil Acquisition Device

Journal of Geophysical Research, Jun 14, 2008

The primary purpose of the Mars 2007 Phoenix Lander Robotic Arm (RA) and associated Icy Soil Acqu... more The primary purpose of the Mars 2007 Phoenix Lander Robotic Arm (RA) and associated Icy Soil Acquisition Device (ISAD) is to acquire samples of Martian dry and icy soil (DIS) by digging, scraping, and rasping, and delivering them to the Thermal Evolved Gas Analyzer and the Microscopy, Electrochemistry, and Conductivity Analyzer. The RA will also position (1) the Thermal and Electrical Conductivity Probe (TECP) in the DIS; (2) the TECP at various heights above the surface for relative humidity measurements, and (3) the Robotic Arm Camera to take images of the surface, trench, DIS samples within the ISAD scoop, magnetic targets, and other objects of scientific interest within its workspace. The RA/ISAD will also be used to generate DIS piles for monitoring; conduct DIS scraping, penetration, rasping, and chopping experiments; perform compaction tests; and conduct trench cave-in experiments. Data from the soil mechanics experiments will yield information on Martian DIS properties such as angle of repose, cohesion, bearing strength, and grain size distribution.

Download

CITADEL: An Icy Worlds Simulation Testbed

Earth and Space 2021, Apr 15, 2021

Rotary Percussive Sample Acquisition Tool (SAT): Hardware Development and Testing

In support of a potential Mars Sample Return mission, an Integrated Mars Sample Acquisition and H... more In support of a potential Mars Sample Return mission, an Integrated Mars Sample Acquisition and Handling (IMSAH) architecture has been proposed to provide a means for Rover-based end-to-end sample capture and caching. A key enabling feature of the architecture is the use of a low mass Sample Acquisition Tool (SAT) that is capable of drilling and capturing rock cores directly within a sample tube in order to maintain sample integrity and prevent contamination across the sample chain. As such, this paper will describe the development and testing of a low mass rotary percussive SAT that has been shown to provide a means for core generation, fracture, and capture.

Download

Understanding Sampling Hardware Cleanliness from Perseverance Lessons Learned, and Forward Approach to Biosignature Missions

AIAA SCITECH 2022 Forum, Jan 3, 2022

Uploads

Papers by Lori Shiraishi

Log In