Heat Flow Probe for Lunar and Planetary Missions

Statistics – Computation

Scientific paper

Rate now

  [ 0.00 ] – not rated yet Voters 0   Comments 0

Details

[5418] Planetary Sciences: Solid Surface Planets / Heat Flow, [6250] Planetary Sciences: Solar System Objects / Moon

Scientific paper

Heat flow information is essential for studying the composition and internal structure of the Moon and other planetary bodies. Heat flow data is typically obtained by inserting a probe to certain depth below the surface and measuring the local thermal conductivity and temperature gradient. For robotic landing missions, the limit in total mass and power consumption requires special design of probe insertion and sensor systems. Although there have been efforts in the development of such probes, the technology has not been used successfully and the understanding of the fundamental processes involved in the penetration and heat transfer is limited. The team from Utah State University and Space Dynamics Lab is developing a tethered heat flow probe for potential lunar and other planetary missions. The probe consists of a penetrator, which uses an internal percussive mechanism, and a tethered cable attached to the penetrator to function as the data and power link, as well as thermal conductivity and temperature sensors. The research focused on two important issues: (1) how to optimize the percussive penetration with specific soil and gravitational characteristics; and (2) what is the thermal uncertainty level caused by the disturbance due to the lander, probe penetration, and soil stratification. Laboratory experiments and computation studies were performed to provide answers toward these two questions. This presentation summarizes the overall concept of the probe and presents current experimental results in these topics.

No associations

LandOfFree

Say what you really think

Search LandOfFree.com for scientists and scientific papers. Rate them and share your experience with other people.

Rating

Heat Flow Probe for Lunar and Planetary Missions does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.

If you have personal experience with Heat Flow Probe for Lunar and Planetary Missions, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Heat Flow Probe for Lunar and Planetary Missions will most certainly appreciate the feedback.

Rate now

     

Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-1769812

  Search
All data on this website is collected from public sources. Our data reflects the most accurate information available at the time of publication.