lunar regolith tagged posts

New Realistic Computer Model will Help Robots Collect Moon Dust

Small Funnel Flow – The same experiments were set up in, both, simulation and reality to see if the virtual regolith behaved realistically. This test looked at how small (16 g) samples of material flowed through narrow funnels. Credit: Joe Louca

A new computer model mimics Moon dust so well that it could lead to smoother and safer Lunar robot teleoperations. The tool, developed by researchers at the University of Bristol and based at the Bristol Robotics Laboratory, could be used to train astronauts ahead of Lunar missions. Working with their industry partner, Thales Alenia Space in the UK, who has specific interest in creating working robotic systems for space applications, the team investigated a virtual version of regolith, another name for Moon dust.

Lunar regolith is of particu...

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Powering the Future with Lunar Soil

Moon base. Credit: European Space Agency

Building a lunar base would be one of the next logical steps in our exploration of the solar system, but the survival of a future crew depends on access to a reliable source of energy. An ESA Discovery & Preparation study explored how lunar regolith—the dust, soil and rock on the moon’s surface—could be used to store heat and provide electricity for future astronauts, rovers and landers.

Humans would have little difficulty reaching the moon’s surface with today’s technology, but it is expensive—sometimes even impossible—to take all the materials we would need with us, especially if we want to stay for more than a couple of days...

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