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With the successful landing of Mars Insight Insight, interest in Mars is increasing.
At the same time, NASA introduces the concept of mining robots that can use the resources of the Hwaseong site.
Prototypes of laser robots exploiting the Earth of Mars ⓒ NASA
"Digital Trends", a high-tech media, reports that NASA is developing a robotic extraction planet on Mars, and if it is developed as planned, he said that he could see mining robots perform digging operations. (Link to the related article)
Digolize and convert to useful resources
If you look at the data sent by Curiosity, a Mars exploration robot, you can see that the surface of Mars is very different from the Earth. In particular, the surface of Mars, covered with particles with dry and coarse physical properties, is a characteristic of an extraterrestrial planet.
It is known that these particles, called regoliths, contain a small amount of water but are faded. NASA is currently conducting research to collect a small amount of water contained between these regoliths and to obtain methane fuel from carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
The purpose of this study, entitled "Use of Global Local Resources (ISRU)", is to extract small amounts of water, capture carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and then combine it. with hydrogen separated from the water to produce methane.
Laser robots designed to direct the buckets in opposite directions © NASA
The reason NASA continues its research using Mars' local resources is to reduce the astronomical costs that will be generated when the exploits of Mars are seriously launched.
It takes tremendous energy to send exploration teams and shipments to the site for global exploration. In addition, exploration crews must return to Earth and, to be able to use all the energy they need, they must fuel huge amounts of fuel.
Experts say, for example, that it takes at least 200 kilograms of energy to send 1 kilogram of fuel to the surface of Mars. However, even if the weight of the spacecraft is removed, the weight of the exploration and cargo team weighs tens of tons. This means that you need a fuel hard to imagine.
On the other hand, if we can produce energy at the Mars site, it will be easier for humanity to explore Mars. Not only does this increase the burden, but it can also be expected to serve as a base for humanity to penetrate other planets beyond Mars.
Preparing for human exploration is the task of the laser
The robot that NASA is developing to exploit Legolis on Mars is "RASSOR". The bucket-shaped drums are designed to point in opposite directions, reminiscent of a snail that strikes his head.
Dr. Kurt Leucht, an engineer at NASA, said: "By placing the drums in opposite directions, you can offset most of the digging forces and allow the robot to work well at low gravity. ;there is. "
As he says, the laser is not meant for scientific observation, but is a robot designed to do difficult things, like driving on rough terrain and digging the ground where it is. necessary. The driving speed is five times faster than the queue and can carry about 20 kg of goods at a time.
Dr. Lecht explains that a robot capable of efficiently collecting resources in an environment such as Mars is different from the planet.
It envisions a plan to reduce the size and weight of the mining equipment used by the Earth, reduce the burden of transport to Mars and place multiple wheels in the center to overcome and move any terrain .
Research is underway to utilize local resources for large-scale human exploration. © NASA
In fact, lasers only account for about 30% of Earth's gravity and must operate in nature without roads. Big and small rocks can be obstacles to blocking the robot's road. Moreover, it is clear that Legolis is static and does not constitute a mining environment similar to the Earth.
Nevertheless, the reason NASA has set up a scenario of using lasers is to seriously prepare humanity for the exploration of the workforce. The beginning of the scenario begins with an exploration team that arrives on Mars in 2038 to bademble the laser, then exploit it locally and determine its availability.
After a given mission, the explorers return to Earth, but the laser is set to allow the mining to proceed automatically while remaining on the site. One of the crew members is not left behind, but without them, take steps to keep the job on the surface of Mars.
Dr. Recht said, "The laser will continue digging the ground covered with regoliths and using it to run a synthesis plant producing methane that can feed the rockets.It will use a synthetic plant for many years before put it on Mars. "
NASA expects that the laser will be a period during which incoming crews will arrive and systematically produce all necessary supplies for the execution of the mission, during the vacancy period of the stations. two years during which the explorers will leave and return to Mars.
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