Pits on the Moon and Mars are intriguing geological formations that have yet to be explored. These geological formations can provide protection from harsh diurnal temperature variations, ionizing radiation, and meteorite impacts. Some have proposed that these underground formations are wellsuited as human outposts. Some theorize that the Martian pits may harbor remnants of past life. Unfortunately, these geological formations have been off-limits to conventional wheeled rovers and lander systems due to their collapsed ceiling or "skylight" entrances. In this paper, a new low-cost method to explore these pits is presented using the Spring Propelled Extreme Environment Robot (SPEER). The SPEER consists of a launch system that flings disposable spherical microbots through skylights into the pits. The microbots are low-cost and composed of aluminium Al-6061 disposable spheres with an array of adapted COTS sensors and a solid rocket motor for soft landing. By moving most control authority to the launcher, the microbots become very simple, lightweight, and low-cost. We present a preliminary design of the microbots that can be built today using commercial components for under 500 USD. The microbots have a total mass of 1 kg, with more than 750 g available for a science instrument. In this paper, we present the design, dynamics and control, and operation of these microbots. This is followed by initial feasibility studies of the SPEER system by simulating exploration of a known Lunar pit in Mare Tranquillitatis.
This paper examines the effectiveness of an asteroid exploration architecture comprised of multiple nanosatellite sized spacecraft deployed from a single mother ship into a heliocentric orbit in the main asteroid belt where the mothership is ideally located in region of high density. Basic mission requirements associated with a Mother-Daughter architecture are established utilizing a relatively large number (10-20) daughter spacecraft distributed from a mothership within the asteroid belt for the purpose of executing sample and return missions.A number of trade analyses are performed to establish system performance to changes in initial orbit, delta-V capability and maximum small spacecraft flight time. The balance between the initial delta-V burn and asteroid velocity matching are also examined, with a goal of minimizing the amount of fuel needed in the small spacecraft. Preliminary requirements for the system are established using these results, and a conceptual design is presented for comparison to other asteroid exploration techniques. Preliminary results indicate that the aforementioned concept of a mothership with small spacecraft is viable and should be considered as an alternative approach to first order surveying of the asteroid belt.
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