A Gravity Compensating Test Facility for Planetary Surface Mobility
- Paper number
IAC-08.A3.6.17
- Author
Mr. Lars Witte, Deutsches Zentrum für Luft und Raumfahrt e.V. (DLR), Germany
- Coauthor
Prof. Joachim Block, Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR), Germany
- Coauthor
Dr. Antje Brucks, Deutsches Zentrum für Luft und Raumfahrt e.V. (DLR), Germany
- Coauthor
Dr. Marco Scharringhausen, Deutsches Zentrum für Luft und Raumfahrt e.V. (DLR), Germany
- Coauthor
Dr. Lutz Richter, Deutsches Zentrum für Luft und Raumfahrt e.V. (DLR), Germany
- Coauthor
Mr. Tom Spröwitz, Deutsches Zentrum für Luft und Raumfahrt e.V. (DLR), Germany
- Year
2008
- Abstract
Future exploration missions pose demanding requirements towards access by vehicles to scientifically interesting sites on planetary surfaces. Driving requirements stem from the need of more flexibility in site selection, improved payload to vehicle mass ratios and higher mission success probabilities. This applies to the touchdown of landing vehicles as well as to the surface operations of roving vehicles. In order to support the design, development and operation of those vehicles on an experimental basis, the DLR Institute of Space Systems is deploying a new Landing and Mobility Test Facility (LAMA). The rationale of this facility is to provide a test bed to study vehicle-soil-interactions, like tip-over stability of landing vehicles or terrain accommodation of rovers, in a reduced gravity environment. The key element of LAMA to generate the required weight reduction forces is a standard 6-axis industrial robot as it is typically known from factory automation applications. This robot, a KUKA KR500, provides a working envelope for test conditions of test object masses of up to 500kg and velocities, both vertically and horizontally, of up to 2m/s. The main reason for using an industrial robot is to provide a fully active, self supporting and in the use cases highly flexible weight offloading device. The vehicles to be tested are gimbal-mounted and attached to the robot via a suspension system, consisting of a set of springs and flexible beams, which are tuned to the mass of the test object. This suspension methods acts as a mechanical low pass filter, dynamically decoupling the robot from high dynamic forces acting to the vehicles gear, passing on the (quasi-)static reduction force, maintained by the robot by adjusting the springs tension. The use of cables for test object suspension has been disregarded due to the lack of sufficient observability of the resultant dynamic for real-time control of the robot. The test ground is given by a sand pit with a dimension of 10x4m, containing the planetary soil simulant. A section of 4x4m is designed as a tiltable ramp and can be adjusted between 0° and 30° to simulate slopes. This paper describes the detailed build-up and working principle of this new test facility. Emphasis is given to the key elements, which are the robot control and the test object suspension. Results from the test and verification of the facility will be shown.
- Abstract document
- Manuscript document
IAC-08.A3.6.17.pdf (🔒 authorized access only).
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