Novel Robotic Fleet for Sample Recovery in Lunar Craters: A Concept of Operations
Rishi Jangale, Derek Pravecek, Sarah Lam, David McDougall, Mauricio Trevino, Aaron Villanueva, Jonas Land, Heaven De Leon, Micah Oevermann, Robert Ambrose
AI summary
Problem
Specialized single robots struggle to balance general terrain mobility with the ability to safely descend steep crater slopes. Existing tethered or single-robot crater missions are constrained by limited range and operational flexibility.
Approach
The authors propose a collaborative mission concept where a wheeled rover transports a spherical robot to a crater edge, which then descends rapidly via pendulum-driven rolling, collects a sample, and launches it ballistically to the surface for retrieval.
Key results
- Design of a collaborative wheeled-spherical robot fleet architecture
- Development of a controlled slope descent controller for pendulum-driven spherical robots
- Design of a ballistic sample return module for ex situ recovery
- Successful terrestrial analog mission demonstration in a quarry environment
Why it matters
Provides a scalable, mission-ready framework for future lunar crater exploration and sample return campaigns, particularly supporting Artemis program objectives.
Abstract
Exploration of extraterrestrial surfaces, such as the lunar surface, can prove treacherous for humans and robots alike and requires highly specialized mobility platforms to ensure the success of a mission and the safety of any operators. However, these specialized machines may limit the overall scope of a mission by limiting the performance outside a particular environment. Thus, for maximum capabilities, a team of distinct but complementary specialized robots and vehicles may be used to expand mission capabilities in lunar environments. In this article, a concept of operations for exploration of a lunar crater from utilizing a collaboration between a wheeled rover, represented by the Robotics and Automation Design (RAD) Laboratory exploration vehicle (REV) and a nontraditional spherical robot, represented by RoboBall II, is introduced. These robots are used as an analog for mission-capable robots such as NASA’s Chariot rover and the larger RoboBall III. Design of these robots, along with collaborative features and intended operational environments, is discussed. A controller for RoboBall to attempt controlled descent on slopes is presented. Furthermore, a ballistic sample return module for collection and ex situ analysis of a sample from the bottom of a lunar crater, along with potential navigational mechanisms to facilitate efficient recovery, is presented. Finally, a mission analog using RoboBall III and the ballistic sample return conducted in a former quarry is demonstrated.