55 results about "Regolith" patented technology

A vapor collection system that can be used at an extra-terrestrial body is envisioned to collect target gaseous atoms and molecules (material) floating around in a shielded environment at a pressure at or less than a bar. The shielded environment is defined within a cover and skirt arrangement that rests atop granular soil, which in one embodiment is regolith. It is advantageous for the regolith under the cover to be essentially devoid of loose rocks that would reduce mining efficacy and / or the cover from sealing against the regolith surface. Accordingly, certain embodiments envision mining the regolith with a zero tailings arrangement that uses a front plow to clear away loose rocks from where the cover will rest on the regolith and a redeposition blade to collect and redeposit the cleared away loose rocks behind the cover.

The invention discloses a transmission electron microscope sample preparation method for a lunar soil space weathered surface and application, and the method comprises the following steps: pasting target lunar soil particles on a carbon conductive adhesive tape, and enabling the target flat surfaces of the target lunar soil particles to be placed back to the carbon conductive adhesive tape; plating a layer of carbon film on the surface of the target lunar soil particle to obtain a scanning electron microscope sample of the target lunar soil particle; screening out a plurality of target research areas on the carbon film corresponding to the target flat surface; uniformly plating a layer of gold film on the carbon film corresponding to the target lunar soil particle scanning electron microscope sample; deposition operation of a research area protection layer is carried out on the gold film corresponding to the target research area through an electron beam and an ion beam in sequence; and performing slicing operation perpendicular to the target flat surface on the target lunar soil particle scanning electron microscope sample to obtain the target lunar soil particle transmission electron microscope sample. According to the method, lunar soil space weathering characteristics can be truly reserved, and an accurate and reliable sample is provided for lunar soil space weathering research.

The system extracts water from lunar regolith and includes a regolith intake having a digging bucket that collects lunar regolith soil and a gravel separator that separates and discharges gravel and passes a mixture of ice-regolith powder having ice grains that are about 10-100 microns along the conveyor. A pneumatic separator receives the ice-regolith powder and pneumatically splits the ice-regolith powder into streams of different sized lithic fragments and ice particles per the ratio of inertial force and aerodynamic drag force of the lithic fragments and ice particles. Each split stream may include a magnetic separator that separates further the magnetic and paramagnetic lithic fragments from ice particles to discharge up to 80 percent of lithic fragments to slag.

A compact vibratory burrowing probe, particularly beneficial in low gravity space exploration environments, uses lateral or stirring-like vibrations to fluidize a surrounding regolith, thereby decreasing the penetration resistance, and compensating for the light overhead weight to improve the burrowing action of the probe into the surface of the terrain of explored moons, planets, or asteroids. Included is a novel vibratory mechanism capable of imparting the novel lateral or stirring vibration, as well as a more conventionally oriented longitudinal vibration.

Aspects of the present invention relates to a lunar surface gas collection system designed to extract and collect gases and isotopes from the lunar regolith. The system may include an agitation system configured to disturb the lunar surface, generating a plume of matter that enters a molecular flow regime, thereby releasing gases and isotopes. A collection system may be provided to capture and direct these gases and isotopes to a secure collection area while preventing unwanted solid particles from entering the system.

Systems and methods for autonomous extraction of volatile minerals from extraterrestrial regolith are disclosed. A rover tows a mineral-collection wagon that mechanically prepares surface regolith and positions a detachable collector shield over a target area. When lowered, the shield rim seals against the regolith to define a localized, low-leakage environment. A radiant heating element raises the regolith to vaporization temperature; released species migrate to the shield's inner surface, which is cryogenically or ambiently cooled to condense solids as a removable film. After a heating / collection cycle, the shield is decoupled for retrieval and processing while the wagon immediately accepts a replacement shield, enabling continuous, modular operation. Embodiments support guided alignment, power coupling, optional daisy-chained wagons, and reciprocating or continuous motion to increase throughput on lunar or similar vacuum surfaces.

The invention discloses a V-shaped drill bit drilling mechanical model modeling method considering lunar soil muck uniform distribution, and belongs to the technical field of lunar surface drilling and lunar soil mechanical analysis. In order to solve the problem of cutting force and power consumption calculation errors caused by neglecting of dynamic pressure of excavated muck on a cutting area in a traditional drilling model, a lunar soil cutting mechanical model considering uniformly distributed pressure is established, and a calculation formula of cutting resistance of a central failure area and a lateral failure area is deduced; a relation model between the horizontal component, the vertical component, the total cutting force, the torque, the power consumption and the efficiency of the cutting force and drill bit structure parameters is constructed. According to the method, the dynamic uniform pressure effect of excavated muck on a cutting area is quantified, the limitation of a traditional lunar soil drilling model in cutting force and power consumption prediction is improved, a theoretical basis is provided for structure optimization, energy consumption control and reliability improvement of lunar drilling equipment, and the method has high engineering application value.

The invention provides a planetary subsurface layer trafficability discrimination method based on planetary vehicle ground penetrating radar data, and relates to the field of ground penetrating radar data interpretation, and the method comprises the steps: obtaining the planetary vehicle ground penetrating radar data; according to the planet vehicle ground penetrating radar data, a planet vehicle number surface trafficability data set is constructed; constructing a non-local attention classification network based on the B-scan data of the ground penetrating radar; iteratively training the non-local attention network through the planetary train number surface trafficability data set to obtain a trained deep learning model; acquiring B-scan data of the ground penetrating radar to be classified; and classifying the to-be-classified ground penetrating radar B-scan data through the trained deep learning model to obtain a star catalogue trafficability identification result, and completing planetary subsurface trafficability discrimination of a region corresponding to the ground penetrating radar data. According to the technical scheme, subsurface planetary vehicle trafficability prediction of single-environment star soil is realized.

A factory for manufacturing useful products while orbiting is space uses concentrated solar energy, high vacuum, and the low temperatures available in a space environment. Gyroscopic forces from rotating machinery are carefully controlled. Liquids, gases, and solid minerals are separated from asteroid and lunar regolith resources.

A lightweight and compact lunar regolith sampling system mountable on a rover. The system comprises a three-degree-of-freedom manipulator based on open cylindrical thin-shell rods, and a control unit based on three-dimensional force / torque information, wherein the three-degree-of-freedom manipulator based on the open cylindrical thin-shell rods has a translation mechanism (1), a lateral rotation mechanism (2) and a rear rotation mechanism (3), and the lower part of the three-degree-of-freedom manipulator is connected to a sensor (4) and a sampler (5); and the control unit based on the three-dimensional force / torque information collects force sensing information and sends the force sensing information to an NUC, and the NUC reads the position of an output shaft of a servo electric motor by means of CAN bus communication, generates a real-time control instruction on the basis of a compliant control algorithm, and sends the real-time control instruction to the servo electric motor by means of CAN bus communication, so as to realize closed-loop control. The system has lightweight characteristics and a strong storage capacity while ensuring the structural strength, uses three-dimensional force / torque information to monitor an operation environment and adjusts a sampling strategy in real time, thereby effectively handling complex operation environments and thus significantly improving the safety and flexibility of sampling operations.

The present application discloses a method for generating a lunar soil sample containing crushable particles based on PFC3D and related equipment. The method includes: generating an initial lunar soil specimen within a preset range of a constraint wall, where the initial lunar soil specimen includes a plurality of spherical particles; obtaining the particle information of the spherical particles, and selecting target crushable particles that match the spherical particles based on the particle information; using the target crushable particles to replace the matching spherical particles to obtain a plurality of specimen particles corresponding to the initial lunar soil specimen; compacting the plurality of specimen particles to obtain a specimen layer; after obtaining a preset number of specimen layers, obtaining a target lunar soil sample based on the preset number of specimen layers. The present application simulates lunar soil by replacing spherical particles with crushable particle bodies, and obtains a lunar soil sample that conforms to the mechanical properties of actual lunar soil.

The present invention discloses an in-situ micro-quantitative sampling device and method for determining particle size, volume, and compaction density of volatile components in lunar soil, which relates to the field of aerospace technology and solves the problem that existing in-situ sampling detection devices cannot accurately control the sampling amount and particle size distribution. It includes a sampling tube and a number of absorption sheets. The absorption sheets are installed inside the sampling tube. By controlling the size of the sample injection part of the absorption sheets, the collection of lunar soil within a specific particle size range is achieved. A continuous filling pressure exists on the absorption surface at the bottom of the sampling tube to realize the constant-density collection of lunar soil by the absorption sheets. The absorption sheet includes a rotary cutting sheet and a constant-volume pressing cover. The constant-volume pressing cover is installed on the rotary cutting sheet to form a sample storage cavity, realizing the constant-volume collection of lunar soil. The present invention can accurately control the sampling amount and particle size distribution of lunar soil, and at the same time can exclude the influence of large-particle lunar soil on the sampling process, facilitating subsequent thermal volatilization extraction and analysis.

This invention discloses an in-situ lunar regolith thermal energy storage and controllable utilization device, relating to the field of lunar surface thermal energy storage technology. The invention includes: a lunar regolith thermal storage body, formed by high-temperature melting of in-situ lunar regolith for storing thermal energy; a heat spreader plate, disposed on the lower surface of the lunar regolith thermal storage body, serving as a channel for energy exchange between the lunar regolith thermal storage body and the outside; and a heat expansion component, fixedly connected to the heat spreader plate, used to improve the heating efficiency of the lunar regolith thermal storage body during the heating process. This invention achieves efficient storage of solar energy and redundant electrical energy during lunar daytime by combining the lunar regolith thermal storage body with a high-efficiency heat expansion component, and achieves stable energy release and cascaded utilization through a controllable heat release component, thereby realizing peak shifting and valley filling of lunar surface energy in both time and space dimensions.

A functionally-graded regolith-based energetic fuel and methods for powering heating systems to help humans and equipment operate in harsh lunar conditions are disclosed. A muti-functionally graded material includes energetic particles comprising a metallic fuel and a regolith-based oxidizer. The energetic particles and the regolith-based oxidizer are mixed to form an energetic material. A regolith-based combustible material is disclosed comprising: micro-magnesium in 20%, 30% or 40% w / w; and a regolith-based oxidizer, wherein the material is ball milled for up to 5 hours.

A method for tracking the lunar regolith depth of the lunar surface neutron source based on particle transport analysis, comprising: obtaining the high-energy particle spectrum of the lunar surface; establishing a particle transport model; according to the high-energy particle spectrum and the particle transport model, emitting initial particles into the lunar regolith model, and forming events and tracks after interacting with the lunar regolith after entering the lunar regolith; first forming an initial trajectory record and transmitting it to the event record set; the neutron tracks are transported step by step, and the current event record is updated according to the property change of the neutrons caused by the interaction; the neutrons perform elastic collision motion in the lunar regolith, until the neutron transport ends, forming an end track record and transmitting it to the event record set; when all the events are transported, output all the information in the event record set; according to the high-energy particle spectrum statistics, obtain the lunar regolith depth from which neutrons of different energies on the lunar surface are sourced, providing a basis for the design of the drilling depth for water exploration on the lunar surface.

A factory for manufacturing useful products while orbiting is space uses concentrated solar energy, high vacuum, and the low temperatures available in a space environment. Gyroscopic forces from rotating machinery are carefully controlled. Liquids, gases, and solid minerals are separated from asteroid and lunar regolith resources.

The invention relates to particular formulations combining a biodegradable matrix and a regolith filler usable in 3D printing, in particular for the manufacture of objects during extraterrestrial missions, for example on the moon or on Mars.

Aspects of the present invention relates to a lunar surface gas collection system designed to extract and collect gases and isotopes from the lunar regolith. The system may include an agitation system configured to disturb the lunar surface, generating a plume of matter that enters a molecular flow regime, thereby releasing gases and isotopes. A collection system may be provided to capture and direct these gases and isotopes to a secure collection area while preventing unwanted solid particles from entering the system.

The invention belongs to the field of simulated lunar soil geopolymers, and provides a simulated lunar soil geopolymer 3D printing rheological regulation and printing method, which comprises the following steps: preparing TJ-1 simulated lunar soil, sodium silicate (Na2SiO3), sodium hydroxide (NaOH), calcium hydroxide (Ca (OH) 2) and hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose (HPMC) as thixotropic agents, mixing the sodium silicate, the sodium hydroxide and the calcium hydroxide according to a certain proportion, and uniformly stirring to obtain a mixture; forming a composite alkali activator; tJ-1 simulated lunar soil is mixed with a composite alkali activator, and geopolymer slurry is formed. According to the simulated lunar soil geopolymer 3D printing rheological control and printing method, the rheological property of the simulated lunar soil geopolymer is accurately controlled, and the rheological property of the simulated lunar soil geopolymer is accurately controlled; the problems that in the prior art, the rheological behavior of the lunar soil geopolymer and 3D printing work performance characterization are fuzzy, and regulation and control are difficult are solved, efficient and stable 3D printing of the simulated lunar soil geopolymer is achieved, and powerful technical support is provided for construction of a lunar base.

The present invention provides a system and method for exploiting in-situ energy by creating a heat storage in lunar regolith. The system for exploiting in-situ energy by creating a heat storage in lunar regolith includes a storage body, which includes lunar regolith and a filler. The filler is filled in the pores of the lunar regolith itself, and the filler is a metal or an alloy. The storage body of this system has a higher energy storage density relative to the original lunar regolith, and no complex maintenance measures are required after the storage body is completed. The method for exploiting in-situ energy by creating a heat storage in lunar regolith includes: mixing lunar regolith with a molten filler, where the filler is a metal or an alloy; and solidifying the filler. Through this method, the original lunar regolith can be transformed to form the above-mentioned storage body with a higher energy storage density.

A system is provided including one or more piezoelectric assemblies, wherein the one or more piezoelectric assemblies include a plurality of piezoelectric transducers. The system includes amplifier circuitry coupled to the plurality of piezoelectric transducers and configured to provide an alternating-current (AC) voltage signal to one or more piezoelectric transducers of the plurality of piezoelectric transducers, based on a target configuration associated with removing regolith dust. The one or more piezoelectric transducers are configured to vibrate based on a magnitude and a frequency of the AC voltage signal.

A compact vibratory burrowing probe, particularly beneficial in low gravity space exploration environments, uses lateral or stirring-like vibrations to fluidize a surrounding regolith, thereby decreasing the penetration resistance, and compensating for the light overhead weight to improve the burrowing action of the probe into the surface of the terrain of explored moons, planets, or asteroids. Included is a novel vibratory mechanism capable of imparting the novel lateral or stirring vibration, as well as a more conventionally oriented longitudinal vibration.

The present invention discloses a pyrotechnic actuated perforator for planetary profile exploration, which relates to the technical field of lunar regolith water ice sample sampling. It solves the problems that during the sampling process, the penetration of the perforating charge launched by the perforator into the lunar regolith water ice layer cannot meet the sampling space required by the sampler and the mass conditions of the overall load. At the same time, the leakage of combustion residues during the launch of the perforating charge will contaminate the in-situ lunar regolith water ice. The pyrotechnic actuated perforating charge consists of four major parts: a high-performance penetration projectile unit, a high-performance pyrotechnic actuation unit, a launch unit, and an interface unit. It can achieve the penetration perforation of high-strength lunar regolith water ice. For high-strength lunar regolith water ice materials, the penetration depth is >160 mm. It can achieve low-recoil clamping launch, the launch speed of the penetrator is >350 m / s, the bullet hole diameter is >15 mm, the launch recoil force is <5 N. It can achieve high-performance sealing of the combustion products of the driving gunpowder, and the pollutant leakage is <8.62×10-19 g. It can be stored in a low-temperature environment for a long time.

Systems and methods for producing regolith simulant that has physical properties that are substantially the same as those of actual regolith, such as that of the Moon's surface, are introduced. In particular, these systems and methods may produce regolith simulant particles that have relatively sharp, irregular, and angular shapes. Such shapes and structures are generally the same as or similar to the shapes and structures of lunar regolith particles. These shapes and structures contribute to a number of important physical characteristics demonstrated by lunar regolith. The methods may include forming a dusty plasma inside a chamber, providing components of the regolith simulant into the chamber, and allowing the components to intermix in the dusty plasma to form irregular and angular particles of the regolith simulant.

This invention provides an extrusion-based additive manufacturing method for lunar regolith on the lunar surface, comprising the following steps: Step 1, preparing a lunar regolith paste system; Step 2, paste extrusion 3D printing; Step 3, prototype performance enhancement. Lunar regolith is mixed with a small amount of resin on the lunar surface in situ to form a soft material with controllable viscosity, which can be precisely controlled under microgravity. Three-dimensional extrusion molding is performed using an extrusion device, followed by curing in the lunar surface's ultraviolet and high-temperature environment. This technology enables the curing of lunar regolith particles with a small amount of resin, uses low-power equipment, and utilizes the lunar surface's ultraviolet radiation and high-temperature environment to enhance the curing effect. It achieves effective control of lunar regolith particles under microgravity, minimizes the amount of curing agent used, reduces Earth-Moon transportation costs, and enables rapid in-situ preparation of high-strength, high-precision lunar regolith structural / functional components.

This invention relates to a mass-optimized geogrid system and method for stabilizing regolith and other granular soils in extraterrestrial and extreme Earth environments. Mass reduction is achieved both locally—within individual geogrid layers through optimization of lattice geometry, variable mesh density, and reinforcement at stress concentrations—and globally, by varying the spacing and distribution of layers according to structural demands. The geogrid may be fabricated from materials that are locally sourced or compositionally traceable to in-situ resource utilization (ISRU) processes in environments such as the Moon, Mars, or terrestrial polar and desert regions where conventional construction materials are limited or costly to transport. The method includes restructuring the regolith by size-sorting and compaction to produce a particle-size distribution proportionally matched to the mesh openings, enhancing mechanical interlock and shear resistance. Structural efficiency can be tuned and verified through physical testing and finite-element analysis for scalable, repeatable construction.

The invention relates to a lunar soil mechanical impact penetration sounding method based on a lunar surface aircraft. A lunar soil mechanical impact penetration sounding method based on a lunar surface aircraft comprises the steps that the lunar surface aircraft carries an impact penetration sounding instrument to fly to the position above a preset measuring point and put the impact penetration sounding instrument; the impact penetration penetrometer obtains kinetic energy through a free falling body to impact and penetrate into lunar soil, so that the conical tip and the side wall of the penetrometer are decelerated under the action of lunar soil resistance and completely stop in the lunar soil, and penetration resistance data, acceleration data and attitude data are obtained in the penetration process; the impact penetration penetrometer transmits the collected data back to the lunar surface aircraft or the ground control center in real time through the wireless communication module; and the lunar surface aircraft or the ground control center interprets the received penetration data to obtain lunar soil parameters, wherein the lunar soil parameters comprise one or more of cohesive force, an internal friction angle and an elastic modulus. According to the invention, in-situ measurement of the lunar soil mechanical properties under the unmanned condition is realized.

This invention discloses a dimensional compensation method for lunar regolith-like DLP printing based on sintering inversion, belonging to the field of additive manufacturing technology. The method includes: classifying and refining irregularly shaped lunar regolith-like powder; constructing a high-solids-content photosensitive slurry system; printing standard samples using DLP technology and performing gradient debinding and sintering; measuring the anisotropic shrinkage rate of the samples; constructing a finite element model based on the Skorhod-Olevsky viscous sintering (SOVS) theory; coupling microscopic grain growth kinetics with transverse anisotropy correction; identifying the high-temperature rheological parameters and anisotropy factor of the material through parameter inversion; and using the calibrated model to predict the sintering deformation field of the target component, generating a reverse pre-deformation compensation model. This invention effectively solves the problem of non-uniform shrinkage caused by gravity and microstructure orientation during liquid-phase sintering of lunar regolith-like material photopolymerized printed parts, achieving near-net-shape forming of aerospace precision spare parts.

Described is a particle filtration system that protects a gas segregation region from lunar regolith dust by using, among other filtration elements, an integrated electromagnetic and electrostatic dust repelling system. The system includes a particle intake chamber with a particle repelling screen comprising a planar array of conductive wires energized with phase-shifted alternating current to generate a time-varying magnetic field. This field repels iron-rich dust particles laterally. An ionizing element located between the particle repelling screen and the gas segregation region. The ionizing element generates one or more electron curtains that charge neutral dust particles, which are then drawn to paired conductive plates via electrostatic attraction. A final-stage ULPA mesh filter captures any remaining particles, ensuring only gas enters the gas segregation region. This design enhances dust mitigation, improves gas collection efficiency, and protects sensitive components in harsh extraterrestrial environments.

A method and system is presented for placing and burying a conductive material, such as a wire, in lunar regolith. The method may include excavating a trench, placing the conductive material in the trench, and subsequently backfilling the trench to bury the conductive material. The system may include an excavation plow, a reverse plow, and a conductive material dispenser. For example, the excavation plow may remove regolith out of the lunar surface to form a trench. The reverse plow may bury the conductive material with the regolith by refilling a portion of the trench where the conductive material has just been placed. In some embodiments, the conductive material dispenser may be configured to dispense a molten conductive material that is cast in place in the trench to form wire. In other embodiments, the conductive material dispenser may be configured to dispense a prefabricated wire from a spool.