Date of Award
2026
Document Type
Open Access Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy in Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics (PhD)
Administrative Home Department
Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
Advisor 1
Paul J. van Susante
Committee Member 1
Mohammadhossein Sadeghiamirshahidi
Committee Member 2
Timothy Eisele
Committee Member 3
Stephen Morse
Abstract
The Artemis Missions aim to establish a sustained human presence on the Moon, requiring In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) of water-ice deposits in permanently shadowed regions. Two critical capabilities must be developed to enable ISRU at scale: prospecting instruments that can characterize the spatial distribution and geotechnical properties of icy regolith in situ, and excavation systems that can extract hardened icy regolith efficiently. This dissertation addresses both needs through the development and testing of a Percussive Heated Cone Penetrometer (PHCP) for geotechnical prospecting and a chain trencher excavator for icy regolith mining.
The PHCP was developed across eight design iterations and tested in five campaigns spanning laboratory bins, a thermal vacuum chamber, and a large-scale robotic field demonstration with 16,000 kg of icy lunar regolith simulant (MTU-LHT-1A). The instrument measures normal stress, shear stress, and subsurface temperature simultaneously. Partial least squares regression showed that bulk density can be estimated from PHCP data with R² = 92% when ice content is known from the thermal subsystem, validating the integrated instrument design.
The chain trencher was developed for the PRIMROSE rover under NASA’s Break the Ice Lunar Challenge and subsequently tested on a Force Test Stand in cemented icy regolith at 4%, 8%, and 12% ice content by weight. Excavation forces in 4% icy regolith averaged 70.83 N (X-axis) and 74.65 N (Z-axis). Specific energy of excavation was 2 to 3.3 times higher than in the competition analog materials. Tool wear scaled linearly with trench length and bed compressive strength. Updated mission estimates showed that a single PRIMROSE-class rover could deliver 10,000 kg of ice in 96 to 300 days, depending on the ice deposit content.
A novel analytical force model for chain trencher excavation was developed and compared against experimental data. The model predicted forces approximately 20 times lower than measured values, with the discrepancy attributed primarily to unmodeled chain friction and inertia rather than geomechanical prediction errors. The modular model architecture provides a foundation for incremental improvement. Together, the prospecting and excavation systems developed in this work advance the technology readiness of lunar ISRU and establish empirical baselines for mission planning.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Guadagno, Marcello C., "MODELING AND TESTING CHAIN TRENCHER EXCAVATOR AND CONE PENETROMETER ROBOTIC PROSPECTING SYSTEMS FOR LUNAR IN-SITU RESOURCE UTILIZATION", Open Access Dissertation, Michigan Technological University, 2026.
Included in
Computer-Aided Engineering and Design Commons, Geotechnical Engineering Commons, Other Aerospace Engineering Commons, Space Vehicles Commons, Systems Engineering and Multidisciplinary Design Optimization Commons