BEAST: Big Europa Assessment & Sampling Tool

Abstract:

The Cryobot architecture presents a feasible system design for descending through Europa's icy crust to facilitate the detection of life in its subsurface ocean. Key to this development is a validated descent simulator that will act as a fundamental design tool to implementing the necessary capabilities to mitigate unknown environmental risks. To validate simulation parameters under relevant environmental conditions, it is necessary to collect an aggregate set of data across the three modes of excavation proposed; mechanical drilling, water jetting, and thermal melting. To facilitate rapid and efficient data acquisition of the proposed concepts, it is advantageous to leverage a laboratory type approach using environmental simulation chambers and ground support equipment (GSE) to emulate the descent stage of the probe. To achieve this, Honeybee Robotics and JPL have teamed up to build the Big Europa Assessment & Sampling Tool (BEAST). The BEAST consists of a 1-meter actuated linear stage, a 2.7kW rotary stage, and a 2.7kW percussive stage. The drilling system is also fitted with a 30-conductor slip-ring for power and communications relay to/from the rotating portion of the system for the integration of thermal control components and other front-end telemetry. Additional design considerations were made for future supplementation of a fluid rotary union to accommodate front-end water jetting. The system is linked to an electrical ground support equipment (EGSE) cart consisting of the motor controllers, temperature controller, high-performance data acquisition device, and 64-bit central computing device for systems operation and user-interfacing. The system is designed to accommodate the expected drilling loads of up to a 30-cm diameter drill bit. Testing of mechanical drilling and thermal melting capabilities is currently underway in Honeybee’s -25C walk-in cold chamber. Current testing utilizes a 15-cm diameter drill bit with plans to test up to a 23-cm diameter bit based on the current Cryobot flight design.