Drill Automation for Mars Exploration DAME

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Drill Automation for Mars Exploration (DAME)

• Purpose develop enabling information
  technologies for planetary subsurface exploration
• Approach iterative spiral implementation and
  field testing of drilling automation
• Participants ARC/Code IC, ARC/Code SS, Honeybee
  Robotics, Georgia Institute of Technology, SETI
  Institute, QSS, Mars Institute, RIACS
• Funding 1.4M total over FY04-06 (source
  CodeS/MIDP), 0.9M internal (FTE/WYE)
• POC Dr. Brian Glass, ARC, [phone],
  brian.glass_at_nasa.gov

• Deliverables
• Low-power, dry Mars-prototype drill, bits
  modified for Arctic conditions
• Control software
• Dynamic shaft flexural model and dynamic failure
  models
• Hybrid diagnostic module
• Results of field testing (hardware and software
  validation)

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FY04 FY06 DAME milestones

• the first year, the project has designed and
  fabricated a Mars-prototype drill (6/04) and is
  conducting manual drilling operations in the
  field to characterize fault modes (7/04, drill at
  Arctic test site now)
• second year, a set of initial automation would be
  tested alongside the drill in an observe-only
  fashion (6/05)
• final season, in-the-loop automation tests in the
  field (7/06)

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Mechanical Design

• System Specifications
• 2 Axis Drill
• Dual motor auger drive
• Maximum continuous torque 130 in-lbs min (TBD)
• Maximum drilling thrust 600 lbf (TBD)
• Auger speed 220 RPM max
• Z-axis stroke 1.1 meters
• Linear Slide reacts all drilling moments.
• Clamp

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Mars Analog Site - Field Tests

• Haughton Crater is located at 75 degrees North,
  90 degrees West on Devon Island in the Nunavut
  Territory of Canada
• Co-Investigator Pascal Lee has established a
  base camp facility there from which a variety of
  private, international and Government field
  explorations have been carried out for the last
  five summer seasons
• Access to the base camp is provided by
  Government-chartered Twin Otters flying out of
  the airport at Resolute (YRB) on Cornwallis
  Island 100 miles to the west.
• All supplies are flown in and all waste must be
  flown out.
• Access to Resolute is via commercial jet from
  Ottawa.
• Travel costs to Resolute are about 2K roundtrip
  per person.
• Researchers live under canvas with individual
  tents for sleeping and communal tents for eating
  and for office/laboratory activities
• ATVs available for local transport
• 24-hour daylight, temperatures 35-40F

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Automation Objectives

• The diagnosis of a particular drill observation
  may depend on the consideration of geological
  formations previously encountered during drilling
• different remedial actions may be required for
  each diagnosis
• Objectives
• To demonstrate diagnostic technology on the drill
  that runs in real-time under the computational
  restrictions expected on a mission
• To perform diagnosis in a dynamic setting where
  the system being diagnosed changes over time.
• To demonstrate an on-board executive that can
  control the drill in real-time
• interacting with the diagnosis system to identify
  the conditions present in the hole
• provide control actions that are responsive to
  those conditions.
• To determine remedial action that can be taken to
  ensure that the drill remains functional

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Relevance to NASAs exploration vision

• Primary Science goals (subsurface exploration is
  most likely place to find past/present life on
  Mars and icy moons, as well as fresh lunar
  material )
• Resource Identification and Characterization
  (in-situ resources on the Moon and Mars)
• Autonomy and operations (drilling is difficult
  testbed for lightspeed-delayed mission operations)

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Staffing

• Civil service Glass (0.25), Cannon (0.2)
• RIACS Dearden (0.1)
• QSS Levinson (0.25), Jasper (0.2), Blaauw (0.05)
• Mars Institute Lee (0.07)
• Georgia Tech Hanagud (0.15) 2 grad students
• Honeybee (1.2 in FY04, 0.35 in FY05/06)
• Student interns Branson, Domville

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Financial Summary

• Funding 1.4M total over FY04-06, 0.8M internal
  (FTE/WYE)
• Source Code S/Mars Instrument Development
  Program
• Honeybee 260K over 3 years (drill and
  maintenance)
• Georgia Tech 290K over 3 years
• Field campaigns 50K/yr