Project Details

The Challenge | Eeny, Meeny, Miney, Sample!

You are the astronaut/robotic mission lead tasked with bringing valuable specimens from the Moon back to Earth for further study. How will you evaluate lunar samples quickly and effectively before or while still on the mission? How will you differentiate samples of potential scientific value from less interesting material?

Midas Rover

Midas Rover is Lunar rover with analisys and mining equipment

Midas Rover

During brainstorming we decided to stop on laser system as analysis instrument, and core drill as gathering instrument.

Moon orientation and pre-evaluating of lunar samples will be provided by true-color camera on top of the rover. We used laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy instrument, similar to Curiosity's one. After analysis rover will take sample with core drill. Sample weight will be approximately 110g, with storage for 140 samples (15.4 kg). Rover will be solar-powered.It's meant to operate mainly during the lunar day.

This project can be important for future Moon exploration, search for building materials and overall Solar System history research.

On the next stage we will develop configurations for different launch systems and scientific missions.

There's some links with materials we used during developing.

https://mars.nasa.gov/msl/spacecraft/instruments/c...

https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/spaceimages/details.php?i...

https://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/MPF/mpf/sci_desc.html

http://www.mining-enc.ru/l/lazernyj-spektralnyj-an...

https://vuzlit.ru/395161/spektralnyy_analiz

https://findpatent.ru/patent/211/2110777.html

http://lib.kstu.kz:8300/tb/books/Laboratorn@ie_m...