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Aerospace
Special Issues
Space Sampling and Exploration Robotics
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Space Sampling and Exploration Robotics

A special issue of Aerospace (ISSN 2226-4310). This special issue belongs to the section "Astronautics & Space Science".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 May 2024 | Viewed by 8608

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Junyue Tang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150080, China
Interests: space exploration; sampling robotics; planetary soil; payload design; intelligent control
Prof. Dr. Shengyuan Jiang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of mechanical and electrical engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150080, China
Interests: planetary exploration technology

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Given the technical advantages of unmanned robotics, utilizing intelligent sampling robots to acquire planetary soil samples may be the most reliable and cost-effective solution for future human deep-space exploration. There are several unique challenges in unmanned sampling, such as long-distance time delay, uncertain underground formations, and limited sensor and mass resources; therefore, it is necessary to conduct research to improve the systems’ adaptability to complicated geological formations. Taking the sampling machine's power consumption and the planetary soil’s morphology into account, planetary sampling robots should be entirely closed-loop; they should be able to not only adapt to complicated geological formations, but also detect planetary regolith. From a theoretical viewpoint, space-soil–machine interactions (such as the penetrating, plowing, cutting, drilling, and blasting) involve three-dimensional deformation, unsteady plastic flow, and rates affected by mechanical and environmental coupling, which are challenging problems that must be solved. It should be noted that space soil may contain some unique components such as water, ice, and volatiles. Once the above interaction mechanism is understood, using mechanics models coupled with detecting payloads, uncertain space-soil and rock formations can be explored by unmanned robots, which can collect data on their mechanical, thermal, electrical, and volatile properties. Additionally, by returning these samples to Earth, more accurate results can be acquired. Such research should be applied to the design of space mining machines, to detection of the physical and chemical properties of space soil, and to furthering our understanding of where water comes from and the distribution of water ice in our early solar system.

For this Special Issue, we invite authors to contribute high-quality original research or review papers on planetary regolith and environments, space-soil–machine interaction modeling and validation, sampling robotics and systems, the detection of payloads, in situ resource utilization (ISRU), sensors and actuators in sampling, sampling tool design, in situ intelligent control, and other technologies related to space exploration robotics. 

Dr. Junyue Tang
Prof. Dr. Shengyuan Jiang
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Aerospace is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • planetary regolith
  • soil–machine interaction
  • sampling robotics system
  • detecting payloads
  • property detection

Published Papers (7 papers)

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Research

10 pages, 2051 KiB  
Article
Measurement and Uncertainty Analysis of Lunar Soil Water Content via Heating Flux Method
by Ziheng Liu, Huaiyu He, Jiannan Li, Jialong Hao, Junyue Tang, Zhiheng Zhang, Shengyuan Jiang, Guanxin Chi, Ranran Liu, Lei Wang, Hao Geng and Changbin Xue
Aerospace 2023, 10(7), 657; https://doi.org/10.3390/aerospace10070657 - 24 Jul 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 889
Abstract
According to the big impact hypothesis, the moon should be very dry. However, more and more evidence from the remote sensing of the moon in recent years indicates that there is a lot of water in the moon’s polar regions. Researching the source [...] Read more.
According to the big impact hypothesis, the moon should be very dry. However, more and more evidence from the remote sensing of the moon in recent years indicates that there is a lot of water in the moon’s polar regions. Researching the source and distribution of volatiles such as water can provide a key constraint on the formation and evolution of the moon. If there is a large amount of a volatile such as water ice in the polar area of the moon, it can be used as a further resource. Regrettably, there are no detectors in place to detect the amount and presence of water to date. In the new wave of lunar exploration, polar water has become one of the main tasks of NASA, ESA and RKA. The Chang’e-7 spacecraft of China’s fourth lunar exploration phase has also used the Water Molecular Analyzer and the Lunar Soil Volatile Measuring Instrument to detect water content in the lunar polar region. This paper introduces a set of methods and principles for analyzing water content via the heat flux method according to the characteristics of the Lunar Soil Volatile Measuring Instrument that was deployed on the lunar surface. According to the current design, the water content of 0.008~0.17% can be analyzed. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Space Sampling and Exploration Robotics)
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14 pages, 8595 KiB  
Article
Experimental Study on the Water Content Distribution of Profile Samples and the Improvement of Sampling Detection Methods
by Ye Tian, Jiahang Zhang, Junyue Tang, Wei Xu, Weiwei Zhang, Lijun Tao, Shengyuan Jiang and Yanbin Sun
Aerospace 2023, 10(7), 635; https://doi.org/10.3390/aerospace10070635 - 14 Jul 2023
Viewed by 850
Abstract
To provide reliable input information for the load design and extraction of lunar soil water ice samples, it is necessary to study the water content distribution and water migration of simulated lunar soil water ice samples. On this basis, the temperature field model [...] Read more.
To provide reliable input information for the load design and extraction of lunar soil water ice samples, it is necessary to study the water content distribution and water migration of simulated lunar soil water ice samples. On this basis, the temperature field model and the hydrothermal coupling relationship are proposed. The temperature field model was constructed by combining energy conservation and Fourier’s heat transfer law. The coupling relationship was established, and the hydrothermal coupling model was obtained by testing the unfrozen water content using the nuclear magnetic resonance method. Finite element software was used to solve the model numerically, and the water migration rule of the soil water ice samples at different ambient temperatures were analyzed. Thin-wall drilling tests were carried out on the simulated lunar soil water ice samples to obtain water content data for different locations, and the simulation results were verified. Due to the migration effect of the cold end of the water, the closer we tested to the edge of the sample, the higher the water content was. The higher the ambient temperature was, the more pronounced the water migration phenomenon of the whole sample was. These research results provide a basis for sampling scheme design. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Space Sampling and Exploration Robotics)
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14 pages, 4138 KiB  
Article
Numerical Simulation of the Lunar Polar Environment: Implications for Rover Exploration Challenge
by Hong Gan, Chengxuan Zhao, Guangfei Wei, Xiongyao Li, Guojun Xia, Xiao Zhang and Jingjing Shi
Aerospace 2023, 10(7), 598; https://doi.org/10.3390/aerospace10070598 - 30 Jun 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1032
Abstract
The lunar polar regions are key areas for future exploration due to the long-term continuous illumination and persistently shadowed regions that can cold trap abundant water and other volatiles. However, the complex terrain, dynamic lighting, and solar wind-induced electric-field environment present multiple challenges [...] Read more.
The lunar polar regions are key areas for future exploration due to the long-term continuous illumination and persistently shadowed regions that can cold trap abundant water and other volatiles. However, the complex terrain, dynamic lighting, and solar wind-induced electric-field environment present multiple challenges for polar investigation and sampling missions. China’s Chang’E-7 (CE-7) will explore the Moon’s south polar region in 2026. One of the scientific goals is to drill samples in a wide area with a rover for in situ analysis. This study analyzes the engineering constraints of the polar illumination condition, slopes, and electric field for landing and sampling-site selection. Then, we create a 3D model of CE-7’s lunar rover in three operating environments by employing the Spacecraft Plasma Interaction Software, with the rover sampling (i) on a flat surface, (ii) in a shadow, and (iii) near a meter-scale crater under different solar altitude angles. The results show that the rover can be charged to different potentials under the combined effects of solar wind incident angles and surrounding terrains. We find that a favorable traversing and/or sampling site of the rover for future polar exploration is in the upwind direction of a bulge (positively elevated terrains, such as the lander or boulders) or crater, which will cause a minimum charging effect on the rover. Our results have important implications for minimizing the risk of charging effects and guiding the lunar polar region exploration. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Space Sampling and Exploration Robotics)
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16 pages, 6038 KiB  
Article
Thermal Simulations of Drilling of Cryogenic Lunar Soils Containing Water Ice
by Jinsheng Cui, Baoxian Chen, Sibo Liu, Deming Zhao and Weiwei Zhang
Aerospace 2023, 10(6), 510; https://doi.org/10.3390/aerospace10060510 - 29 May 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1142
Abstract
Water ice is an important water source in lunar polar soil. Drilling and sampling lunar polar soil are important engineering tasks of lunar exploration. In view of the influence of temperature rise on the quality of samples obtained by drilling, the heat transfer [...] Read more.
Water ice is an important water source in lunar polar soil. Drilling and sampling lunar polar soil are important engineering tasks of lunar exploration. In view of the influence of temperature rise on the quality of samples obtained by drilling, the heat transfer and temperature rise in drilled ice-containing lunar soil were investigated. In this study, a thermal simulation model for drilling lunar soil was established based on the discrete element method (DEM). Simulations of the drilling temperature of lunar soil containing ice at 3–5% were performed assuming normal pressure and low temperature. After validating the feasibility and accuracy of the simulation method, the temperatures of the drilling tools and lunar soil were analyzed. Furthermore, drilling in a vacuum was simulated as well, and the results indicated that ice sublimation was negligible for reasonable drilling procedures in the current study. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Space Sampling and Exploration Robotics)
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10 pages, 4169 KiB  
Article
Rotating Machinery State Recognition Based on Mel-Spectrum and Transfer Learning
by Fan Li, Zixiao Lu, Junyue Tang, Weiwei Zhang, Yahui Tian, Zhongyu Cui, Fei Jiang, Honglang Li and Shengyuan Jiang
Aerospace 2023, 10(5), 480; https://doi.org/10.3390/aerospace10050480 - 18 May 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1095
Abstract
During drilling into the soil, the rotating mechanical structure will be affected by soil particles and external disturbances, affecting the health of the rotating mechanical structure. Therefore, real-time monitoring of the operational status of rotating mechanical structures is of great significance. This paper [...] Read more.
During drilling into the soil, the rotating mechanical structure will be affected by soil particles and external disturbances, affecting the health of the rotating mechanical structure. Therefore, real-time monitoring of the operational status of rotating mechanical structures is of great significance. This paper proposes a working state recognition method based on Mel-spectrum and transfer learning, which uses the mechanical vibration signal’s time domain and frequency domain information to identify the mechanical structure’s working state. Firstly, we cut the signal at window length, and then the Mel-spectrum of the truncated signal is obtained through the Fourier transform and Mel-scale filter bank. Finally, we adopted the method of transfer learning. The pre-trained model VGG16 is adjusted to extract and classify the features of the Mel-spectrum. Experimental results show that the framework maintains an accuracy of more than 90% for vibration signals under minor window conditions, which verifies the real-time reliability of the method. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Space Sampling and Exploration Robotics)
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17 pages, 7987 KiB  
Article
Numerical Modeling of Thermal Behavior during Lunar Soil Drilling
by Deming Zhao, Zhisheng Cheng, Weiwei Zhang, Jinsheng Cui and He Wang
Aerospace 2023, 10(5), 472; https://doi.org/10.3390/aerospace10050472 - 17 May 2023
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1270
Abstract
This paper presents a detailed thermal simulation analysis of the drilling process for icy soil in the lunar polar region. The aim is to investigate the temperature changes that occur in the debris removal area during the drilling process. We developed a multi-level [...] Read more.
This paper presents a detailed thermal simulation analysis of the drilling process for icy soil in the lunar polar region. The aim is to investigate the temperature changes that occur in the debris removal area during the drilling process. We developed a multi-level particle size simulation model that includes a thermal sieve based on geometric constraints to evaluate the influence of specific heat capacity and thermal conductivity on particle temperature. Using the central composite design method, we carried out the simulation test design and analyzed the average temperature difference of particles within and outside the range of the thermal sieve. The parameters of the discrete element model were determined by comparing the temperature of the debris removal zone in the lunar environment with the temperature simulated by the discrete element method. The results show that the thermal conductivity of the sieve ranges from 100 to 400 W/m, and the average temperature inside the thermal sieve is negatively related to the specific heat capacity. The temperature deviation of the chip removal area is ±10 °C, which is consistent with the temperature deviation observed in the lunar environment and the lunar icy regolith drilling test. Furthermore, the addition of the thermal sieve to the multi-stage particle size simulation modeling significantly reduces the calculation time by 86%. This reduction in computational time may potentially increase the efficiency of drilling operations in the future. Our study provides insights into the thermal behavior of lunar icy regolith during drilling, and proposes a numerical model of heat transfer with a thermal sieve that can effectively reduce computational time while ensuring accurate temperature calculations. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Space Sampling and Exploration Robotics)
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22 pages, 2456 KiB  
Article
Simulating Operational Concepts for Autonomous Robotic Space Exploration Systems: A Framework for Early Design Validation
by Jasmine Rimani, Nicole Viola and Stéphanie Lizy-Destrez
Aerospace 2023, 10(5), 408; https://doi.org/10.3390/aerospace10050408 - 27 Apr 2023
Viewed by 1356
Abstract
During mission design, the concept of operations (ConOps) describes how the system operates during various life cycle phases to meet stakeholder expectations. ConOps is sometimes declined in a simple evaluation of the power consumption or data generation per mode. Different operational timelines are [...] Read more.
During mission design, the concept of operations (ConOps) describes how the system operates during various life cycle phases to meet stakeholder expectations. ConOps is sometimes declined in a simple evaluation of the power consumption or data generation per mode. Different operational timelines are typically developed based on expert knowledge. This approach is robust when designing an automated system or a system with a low level of autonomy. However, when studying highly autonomous systems, designers may be interested in understanding how the system would react in an operational scenario when provided with knowledge about its actions and operational environment. These considerations can help verify and validate the proposed ConOps architecture, highlight shortcomings in both physical and functional design, and help better formulate detailed requirements. Hence, this study aims to provide a framework for the simulation and validation of operational scenarios for autonomous robotic space exploration systems during the preliminary design phases. This study extends current efforts in autonomy technology for planetary systems by focusing on testing their operability and assessing their performances in different scenarios early in the design process. The framework uses Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) as the knowledge base for the studied system and its operations. It then leverages a Markov Decision Process (MDP) to simulate a set of system operations in a relevant scenario. It then outputs a feasible plan with the associated variation of a set of considered resources as step functions. This method was applied to simulate the operations of a small rover exploring an unknown environment to observe and sample a set of targets. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Space Sampling and Exploration Robotics)
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