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NASA JPL | Mentored by Raul Polit-Casillas | Summer 2018
Introduction
Introduction
The goal of this project was to build landing gear that maintains the Europa Lander’s stability such that its scientific payload operates properly. Since not much is known about Europa’s surface the lander must land on terrains ranging from rough surface ice to non-cohesive ”sand” and surface materials including corn ice, frost, and organic soil containing sulfuric acid. The design had to take all these environmental factors into consideration.
Design Process
Design Process
This project followed a rapid research and design process by brainstorming with process diagrams and design family sketches (pictured), modeling initial designs in Siemens NX CAD, 3D printed prototypes, and tested prototypes on test bed with analogs and materials that simulate Europa’s icy surface (e.g. sand, wood).
I started the design process by proposing several possible design families. Five different families of solutions were created, inspired by hydroplanes, snowshoes, conforming and rigidizing materials, mountain goat hooves, and geometric shapes.
I then used process diagrams to simulate several landing scenarios for each design, including an uneven granular surface, a hard icy surface, a hard domed surface, and a granular sloped surface.
I also prototyped testbed analogs on which the robotic arm tests the landing gear prototypes. Certain analogs closely simulate some elements of Europa’s icy surface (images track left to right, top-down):
Ceramic bricks simulate rough ice with its texture.
Floracraft foam simulates rough brittle ice with its porous compactable nature.
Wood logs simulate an icy Devil’s Golf Course terrain with its rough curved surfaces.
Cinder blocks are brittle and porous, simulating these potential properties of Europa’s surface
Combining wood and cinder, then adding sand on top will provide a comprehensive model of Europa’s terrain and surface texture.
Final Solution
Final Solution
I found that the ideal solution is of the type that conforms while landing but rigidizes post-landing. Strong characteristics of successful landing gear include triangulated elements, traction patterns, and increased surface areas. The final design (pictured) achieves this with its three mobile section shells attached to the center load with a four-bar linkage. The prototype (pictured) was constructed using 3D printed parts and metal parts such as pins and one-way bearings. This prototype adapts to the terrain and its bottom plates distribute force to a larger surface area.
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