High Temperature Venus Drill and Sample Delivery System, Phase I

NASA applications for this technology include sampling of surface regolith (i.e. 'vacuum cleaner suction mode') as well as the subsurface soils and rocks on Venus. The sample delivery system is an integral part of both the drill and the trencher. Hence, there is no need for any additional sample transfer hardware e.g. a robotic arm with a scoop, etc. The successful completion of the proposed effort would be essential to a New Frontiers Venus mission proposal as it would offer significant new opportunities for improved science, data gathering and operational life. In addition to Venus applications, the drill and the trencher with the sample delivery system work in any other environment that has an atmosphere (e.g. Titan with the atmospheric pressure of 1.5 atm). Because of Titan's lower temperature (~100K), there will be no need for HT motors and associated HT materials, and hence the system would have to be redesigned for lower temperature (e.g. actuators would need heaters, etc.). Non-NASA applications include any scenarios that require acquiring a sample from hot and often hazardous locations. For example, the proposed sampler could be used to robotically acquire samples from walls of nuclear reactors to determine the extent of radiation damage. Since the proposed drill is small, it could be mounted at the end of COTS robotic platforms such as iRobot's PackBot, Qinetic's Talon, or Remotec's Andros. Samples of topsoil are also required in war zones to determine if the location has explosives or other contaminants. The drill with sample acquisition and delivery system could be packaged into a stand-alone sampler-analyzer system (e.g. XRF/XRD or a GC/MS could be integrated with the drill). Hence, the robotic device could drive to a location of interest, acquire surface and subsurface samples, and analyze them in situ to determine if the location has buried explosives. Note that it is not necessary to touch the IED (Improvised Explosive Device) or a mine itself to determine if it's an explosive. Explosives manufacturing leaves traces of compounds (e.g. nitrides) that are extremely difficult to remove or wash away, an that contaminate anything that has been in contact with them (e.g. soil). For this reason, airport security personnel conduct swab tests around the suitcase without the need for opening the suitcase itself to determine if explosives are present. More »