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Carnegie Mellon Robotics Institute

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Abstract

One of the central challenges for lunar exploration is to mature and validate the system-level concepts of in-situ resource utilization (ISRU) and surface operations including mapping, surveying and prospecting. In particular, identifying and quantifying the distribution of polar volatiles (especially buried water ice in permanently shadowed craters) is essential for determining to what extent ISRU will play a role in lunar exploration. In August 2007, we integrated the HYDRA neutron spectrometer, developed by Los Alamos National Laboratory, with a NASA Ames K10 rover. We then conducted outdoor tests with buried water ice proxies to demonstrate the utility of HYDRA in prospecting for near-surface hydrogenous deposits.

Keywords

planetary rovers, survey, space robotics

Notes

Number of pages: 2

Text Reference

R. Elphic, L. Kobayashi, M. Allan, M. Bualat, Matthew Deans, Terrence W. Fong, S. Lee, V. To, and H. Utz, "Enabling Exploration: Robotic Site Surveys and Prospecting for Hydrogen," Workshop on Enabling Exploration: The Lunar Outpost and Beyond, October, 2007.

BibTeX Reference

@inproceedings{Deans_2007_5856,
   author = "R. Elphic and L. Kobayashi and M. Allan and M. Bualat and Matthew Deans and Terrence W Fong and S. Lee and V. To and H. Utz",
   title = "Enabling Exploration: Robotic Site Surveys and Prospecting for Hydrogen",
   booktitle = "Workshop on Enabling Exploration: The Lunar Outpost and Beyond",
   publisher = "LEAG",
   month = "October",
   year = "2007",
   number = "3046",
}

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