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�ARsEnAL: �Autonomous Robots Enhancing Astronaut Living

Evan Cooper

12/13/2022

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Problem Statement

  • Lunar missions will require large amounts of crew-hours for all lunar activities: construction, repair, agriculture, and more.
  • Using only astronauts as sources of labor will stymie research efforts and lower safety margins

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(1)

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Problem Statement Continued

  • Atmospheric leaks will continue to be an issue
    • Causes: MMOD, manufacturing defects, thermal stresses

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(2)

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What’s the big deal?

  • Safety and Cost
    • From last slide: ṁ = .00075 kg/s for 2 cm hole
    • Recent estimates of $5,500 per extra kg orbit (Via SpaceX)
    • Hypoxia symptoms can be difficult to recognize
    • Requirements of 1 kg/person/day

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Solution?

  • Popular approach: Humanoid robots

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The Problem

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The Proposed Solution

  • Crawler: Robotic fleets of quadruped robots (based on Spot by Boston Dynamics)
  • Flyer: Variant of robot using cold-gas thruster for RPO

(8,9,10,11)

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A more in-depth look

Changeable end effector

Dust-resistant peelable coverings for shoulder and elbows

Upgraded solid-state battery for longer EVA missions

Lightweight material selection (Titanium structures)

Radiation-hardened electronics and sensors

Quadruped design for stability

RCS thruster packs (Nitrogen-based)

RCS Model: (11)

(22)

Gallium-based phase change material heat sink

(23)

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ARsEnAL – Flyer Variant

  • Features:
    • Infrared camera system detect atmospheric leaks via temperature
    • Miniaturized RELL 2.0 (Robotic External Leak Locator)
    • MMOD suite: observe, measure, and attempt to fix MMOD strikes
      • (deburr, epoxy)

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ARsEnAL – Crawler Variant

  • Major usages:
    • Remote sensing of surfaces
    • Construction
    • Repair
    • Farming
    • Nuclear reactor servicing
    • Solar panel upkeep
    • Exploration

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Future Work

  • Machine learning models for locomotion
  • First pass - Send current generation Spot to moon to gather data

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Alternative Solutions

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Questions?

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References

  1. https://blogs.esa.int/alexander-gerst/2014/07/02/planning-down-to-the-minute/
  2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5q1G1-m2zGw
  3. https://theconversation.com/elon-musks-tesla-bot-raises-serious-concerns-but-probably-not-the-ones-you-think-166714
  4. https://www.nasa.gov/robonaut2/about.html
  5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C-3PO
  6. https://www.metalearth.com/the-terminator-t-800
  7. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marvin_the_Paranoid_Android#/media/File:Marvin_(HHGG).jpg
  8. https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3027453
  9. https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/robot-arm-2370f3522d4446eaabd1a319d10b7e22
  10. https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/spot-robot-low-poly-model-with-rig-5d114e1b5c224ae39b36fdbb3fae5a1e
  11. https://www.turbosquid.com/3d-models/container-props-3d-model-1428630#
  12. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manned_Maneuvering_Unit
  13. https://nexis.gsfc.nasa.gov/rell.html
  14. https://www.flir.com/products/t540/?vertical=condition+monitoring&segment=solutions
  15. https://www.nbcnews.com/mach/science/astronauts-use-gauze-high-tech-tape-plug-hole-iss-ncna905326
  16. http://www.qirt.org/archives/qirtasia2019/papers/020.pdf
  17. https://ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/20090010053
  18. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8csaceFkBHY
  19. https://www.cnbc.com/2022/03/23/spacex-raises-prices-for-launches-and-starlink-due-to-inflation.html
  20. Class notes, Dr. Garrett Reisman, ASTE 524
  21. https://short-horizon-actor-critic.github.io/
  22. https://www.nasa.gov/aeroresearch/nasa-solid-state-battery-research-exceeds-initial-goals-draws-interest\
  23. https://space.nss.org/settlement/nasa/spaceresvol2/thermalmanagement.html

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BACKUPS

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Roads not Travelled

  • Habitats:
    • Modular inflatable lunar habitats
    • Lunar lava tube bases, incorporating excavated materials
  • Recreation:
    • Zero-G laser tag arena
      • Enclosed arena with obstacles, attempting to capture an enemy base
    • Athletic training compound
      • Lower levels of gravity to accommodate physical therapy
      • Higher levels of gravity to improve fitness levels
  • Agriculture:
    • Solar Radiation Plant Breeding Capsules
      • Placing automated nurseries in various orbits to take advantage of high incidence of radiation to research beneficial mutations

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The A.R.M.O.Re �Autonomous Recharge and Maintenance Operational Repository

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ARsEnAL – On Orbit Variant – Dust Dispersal Method