LUVMI-X: A Versatile Platform for Resource Prospecting on the Moon

Development and test of a Lunar Excavation and Size Separation System (LES3) for the LUVMI‐X rover platform

“…This is partly dependent on the mass of excavated and processed material required by the ISRU processes that are being supported in the given mission scenario, since this determines the scale of the inlet as well as the arm. Areas that can accumulate soil during operation must be minimized by design and mitigation methods implemented. Test on the rover platform at analogue site and with icy regoliths: To further evaluate the applicability of this prototype and due to the proposed polar deployment zone of LUVMI‐X (Garcet et al, 2019; Losekamm et al, 2021), tests with icy regoliths or analogues prepared to comparable strength should be performed (Gertsch et al, 2006, 2008; Pitcher et al, 2016). Additionally, the mechanism is intended for a field analogue test with the rover in late 2021.…”

“…The presented work introduces a mechanism capable of combining regolith excavation with its beneficiation in the form of grain size separation. Since LES 3 is intended for use with a small and lightweight lunar rover, LUVMI-X (Garcet et al, 2019;Losekamm et al, 2021), minimising the required excavation forces is crucial.…”

“…When incorporated into LUVMI‐X, the LES 3 will have three main functions in support of scientific as well as ISRU activities on the lunar surface: Excavation and feedstock beneficiation: Two distinct size fractions of regolith feedstock can be delivered to different ISRU processes, which is beneficial to the process control and product quality of a multitude of ISRU applications, like for instance additive manufacturing, regolith sintering, or oxygen extraction (see Table 1). LIBS support: For compositional analysis of the lunar surface, LUVMI‐X carries a laser‐induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) system on‐board (VOlatiles Identification by Laser Ablation (VOILA)) (Garcet et al, 2019; Losekamm et al, 2021; Vogt et al, 2020, 2021). Our proposed excavation method will be able to scrape/trench into the surface of the lunar regolith, revealing subsurface rock and soil samples available for LIBS investigations.…”

“…2 | THE LUVMI-X ROVER PLATFORM: SCIENTIFIC AND ISRU OBJECTIVES ENABLED BY LES 3 LUVMI-X is a small and lightweight four-wheeled lunar rover currently under development by Space Applications Services (Garcet et al, 2019;Losekamm et al, 2021), of which a rendering can be seen in Figure 1. The rover has a total mass of 40-60 kg, and a total payload capacity of 24 standard units (U) (1 U ≈ 10 × 10 × 10 cm; Gatsonis et al, 2016), split into 12 U per payload bay (front and back of the rover).…”

“…• LIBS support: For compositional analysis of the lunar surface, LUVMI-X carries a laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) system on-board (VOlatiles Identification by Laser Ablation (VOILA)) (Garcet et al, 2019;Losekamm et al, 2021;Vogt et al, 2020Vogt et al, , 2021. Our proposed excavation method will be able to scrape/trench into the surface of the lunar regolith, revealing subsurface rock and soil samples available for LIBS investigations.…”