15th Biennial ASCE Conference on Engineering, Science, Construction, and Operations in Challenging Environments
Development of a Planetary Deep Drill
Publication: Earth and Space 2016: Engineering for Extreme Environments
ABSTRACT
Planetary exploration has been limited to surface and near surface terrains. To learn about planets’ histories and especially to find life, deep drilling is required. This paper presents the AMNH Planetary Deep Drill, designed for penetration to 100s of meters and kilometers into Mars’ ice caps and Europa’s ice sheets, respectively. The drill uses a wireline approach where the drill system is suspended on an umbilical; to drill deeper, more umbilical is paid out from a drum. This prototype drill weighs approximately 40 kg and is 4.5 m long. It has been field tested in a gypsum quarry and reached 10.5 meters in one hole and 13.5 meters in a second hole: 3x the drill’s length. The drill required no more than 250 Watt of power to penetrate at 50 cm/hr in this 38 MPa material, analog to ice at 240 K.
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This work has been funded by a grant from T-M. Castaneda and P. Wagner to the American Museum of Natural History; MS gratefully acknowledges their unwavering support. Funding by The Planetary Society and by The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is also gratefully acknowledged. Special thanks must go to US Gypsum Company for their support in helping to test the drills at the Plaster City Gypsum quarry and the employees at Plaster City for their help in solving critical logistical issues.
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Information & Authors
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Published In
Earth and Space 2016: Engineering for Extreme Environments
Pages: 256 - 266
Editors: Ramesh B. Malla, Ph.D., University of Connecticut, Juan H. Agui, Ph.D., NASA Glenn Research Center, and Paul J. van Susante, Ph.D, Michigan Technological University
ISBN (Online): 978-0-7844-7997-1
Copyright
© 2016 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Published online: Jun 29, 2017
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