Scientists Turn to an Autonomous, Collaborative Robot Swarm to Solve the Problems of Lunar Mining
Currently being tested through rapid prototyping on 3D-printed rovers, these spacefaring robots could one day mine the moon.
A team of scientists at the University of Arizona have received $500,000 in funding from NASA to develop an autonomous robot swarm designed to harvest resources — on the moon.
"It's really exciting to be at the forefront of a new field," says Moe Momayez, interim head of the Department of Mining and Geological Engineering and the David & Edith Lowell Chair in Mining and Geological Engineering at the University of Arizona. "I remember watching TV shows as a kid, like 'Space: 1999,' which is all about bases on the moon. Here we are in 2021, and we're talking about colonizing the moon."
Before anyone can colonize the moon, though, they'll need resources — and pulling them up from Earth's gravity well is expensive. Mining them on the moon would be easier, and could provide rare earth metals, titanium, gold, platinum, and helium-3 — considered to be key to fuelling nuclear power plants on the moon.
Mining, though won't be easy either. "Here on Earth, we have an unlimited amount of energy to throw at breaking rocks," Momayez explains. "On the moon, you have to be a lot more conservative. For example, to break rocks, we use a lot of water, and that's something we won't have on the moon. So, we need new processes, new techniques. The most efficient way to break rocks on Earth is through blasting, and nobody has ever set off a blast on the moon."
One of the "new processes" the team is looking into: A collaborative robot swarm, powered by the Human and Explainable Autonomous Robotic System (HEART). "The idea is to have the robots build, set things up, and do all the dirty, boring, dangerous stuff," explains associate professor Jekan Thanga, "so the astronauts can do the more interesting stuff."
To prove the concept, the team has turned to rapid prototyping through 3D printing — using as a basis a low-cost open-source wheeled rover developed by Roger Cheng, the Sawppy, which is being used to test out a variety of sensors for their suitability in lunar mining.
More detail on the project is available on the University of Arizona website.
This article has been updated to correctly credit Roger Cheng as the creator of the Sawppy rover design.