月惑星探査のための自己回転スクリュ機構の研究

概要

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Methods of underground installation of certain geophysical sensors such as seismometers and heat flow sensors are required for future lunar and planetary exploration. On the Moon, installing such units at depths below several tens of centimeters allows them to survive overnight without any thermally shielded mechanism. Conversely, methods of driving piles into the regolith would help robots operate, because it is very difficult to obtain sufficient reaction force in the regolith, which is powdery and soft. In 2008, we proposed a new mechanism known as a “Self-Turning Screw Mechanism” (STSM), which uses the reactive torque of a wheel to drill into the regolith. In this paper, we report the concept of the STSM, the design of our recent prototype and the result of the experiment. The length, diameter, and weight of the prototype are 364.6 mm, 80 mm, and about 2.5 kg, respectively. In the latest test, the prototype was able to drill down to 669 mm into the fly ash sand which simulates the lunar regolith. In addition, the prototype successfully drove backward to eject itself from the fly ash. These results proved the applicability of the mechanism to autonomous drilling systems in future landing missions.