Date of Award
2023
Document Type
Open Access Master's Report
Degree Name
Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering (MS)
Administrative Home Department
Department of Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics
Advisor 1
Paul van Susante
Committee Member 1
Vijaya V. N. Sriram Malladi
Committee Member 2
Mohammad Sadeghi
Abstract
NASA and other agencies are working to return to the moon, with the Artemis Program [1]. As a part of this new effort, an emphasis is being placed on having a sustained presence, building lunar bases and other permanent structures. The development of such infrastructure will require the development of civil engineering structures, and site preparation becomes a necessity. The Planetary Surface Technology Development Laboratory is developing a low mass lunar compactor as part of an autonomous site preparation vehicle in partnership with Colorado School of Mines, funded by NASA’s 2021 Lunar Surface Technology Research grant. The low mass lunar compactor utilized vibrated pins which allow for compaction at depth.
This report will discuss the development of this compaction method and hardware through multiple prototype test devices and the relevant results.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Carey, Charles, "DEVELOPMENT AND TESTING OF A LOW MASS VIBRATORY LUNAR COMPACTOR", Open Access Master's Report, Michigan Technological University, 2023.