Strategies for Deploying a Sensor Network to Explore Planetary Lava Tubes.

Area of Science:

• Planetary Science
• Robotics
• Astrobiology

Background:

• Lunar and Martian pits are potential pristine environments, possibly remnants of lava tubes.
• Current exploration vehicles (rovers, landers) cannot access these deep, rugged pit interiors.
• Accessing these subsurface environments is crucial for understanding planetary geology and the potential for extraterrestrial life.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose a novel exploration strategy for accessing and studying Lunar and Martian pits.
• To introduce a mother-daughter robotic architecture for in-situ exploration of subsurface extraterrestrial environments.
• To enable autonomous scientific data collection within hazardous pit terrains.

Main Methods:

• Deployment of multiple small, spherical robots (SphereX) capable of ballistic hopping.
• Utilization of a mother-daughter architecture where a rover/lander deploys SphereX robots.
• Autonomous operation of SphereX robots for tasks including imaging and 3D mapping.
• Establishment of a multi-hop communication and power transfer network via line-of-sight links.

Main Results:

• SphereX robots can autonomously enter and explore pit entrances.
• High-resolution imaging and 3D mapping of pit interiors are achievable.
• The proposed architecture facilitates long-duration missions through resource sharing (power, communication).

Conclusions:

• The mother-daughter architecture with hopping robots offers a viable solution for exploring hazardous Lunar and Martian pits.
• This approach enhances safety by keeping primary assets away from dangerous terrain.
• The system lays the groundwork for future complex, high-risk extraterrestrial exploration missions.