Speakers
Description
In the quest for planetary exploration, rovers have played a pivotal role in gathering crucial data and expanding our understanding of the planetary surfaces. Currently, due to the active participation of the ESA in NASA’s Artemis program, the European space industry is actively developing technologies for lunar surface exploration such as robotic rovers.
In this context, TU Delft’s Zebro student team is developing a six-legged micro lunar rover, which utilizes an innovative locomotion system based on six C-shaped legs. Zebro’s rover is planned to be deployed in swarms to help astronauts and bigger robotic rovers. The rover is the size of a shoe box, which allows to minimize launch costs and the inclusion in potential rideshare programs.
However, miniaturization also comes with challenges, especially related to rigid weight constraints. The rover is currently going through its second design iteration, approaching the first development test phase. The focus of this study is the thermal analysis and design iteration performed to meet the rover survivability requirements. The requirements have been tailored to the first mission: a technology demonstration where the rover will perform radiation measurements on the Moon surface.
The rover behaviour has been simulated in three different operational scenarios in the harsh Moon polar environment. The results have been used to improve the thermal control system to obtain a sturdy and reliable design. The thermal analysis has been performed in ESATAN-TMS.
Based on the thermal analysis results, the Zebro’s thermal design was modified using commercial off-the-shelf components, striving to meet the strict mass, power, volume, software, and budget constraints of the project. The design iteration includes changes regarding the insulation systems, the introduction of a radiator, and the use of thermal straps to better spread the internally generated heat. The design changes were verified numerically with ESATAN-TMS and will be validated in the upcoming test campaign.
The results point to an improved thermal design that makes the overall Zebro solution more robust and efficient. The results presented also add to the practical understanding of the difficulties associated with maintaining thermal control in miniaturized space structures.
