Dig or Drill? Weighing Options for Robotic Planetary Surface Exploration Missions

Robotic planetary exploration missions are becoming increasingly sophisticated and ambitious, with future missions contemplating the collection and return of surface and subsurface samples to Earth for detailed analysis. In many ways, collecting and returning samples from a planetary surface mimics geologic and soil sampling in remote terrestrial locations. This paper provides a review of lessons learned from geotechnical field investigations in remote areas and areas with difficult access that can be applied to future robotic field investigations. Specifically, the pros and cons of digging and sampling exploratory trenches are weighed against potential drilled sample collection techniques.