ILMA Compoundings – February 2019 - 10

INDUSTRY RUNDOWN

NASA Hopes to Turn Dust
Into Rocket Fuel
Turning dust on the surface of the moon and Mars into
rocket fuel might sound a lot like science fiction, but at
NASA it's becoming science fact. Scientists and engineers at NASA's John F. Kennedy Space Center's Swamp
Works Lab in Florida are developing an in situ (on-site)
resource utilization (ISRU) system that will turn dust into
rocket fuel, which will give explorers venturing farther
into space a way to get back home.
An essential component of the ISRU system is a robot
called RASSOR (Regolith Advanced Surface Systems Operations Robot) that will be responsible for mining that surface
dust on the moon and eventually Mars. The robots have to
work day and night, for years, without any on-site human
intervention. That means the lubrication that protects the
mechanical parts has to do its job without regular maintenance schedules or top-offs. Not only does the lubrication
have to perform in microgravity and extremely dusty situations, but it also has to stand up to the extreme temperature
fluctuations in outer space.
Drew Smith, a robotics engineer at Kennedy Space
Center, said one of their biggest challenges when it comes to
keeping robots running is the extremely cold temperatures
on the surface of the moon and Mars. Temperatures can be
as low as minus 400 degrees Fahrenheit on the moon and
minus 243 degrees Fahrenheit on Mars.
"When lubricants in gearboxes and bearings get to a
certain low temperature, they freeze, and the gearboxes and
bearings will seize up," said Smith.
Keeping robots running on Mars is nothing new to
NASA. The Mars rover, Curiosity, has been operational on
the surface of the planet since 2012. However, to keep the
specified greases functional in the extreme cold, heaters
are strapped to the rover. Approximately 40 percent of the
rover's power is dedicated to keeping those heaters running
- energy that could be rededicated to science equipment.
Imagine for a moment telling an airplane or automobile
manufacturer that 40 percent of its plane or car's power
needs to be dedicated to keeping lubricants from freezing.
It sounds crazy, yet that's exactly what engineers at NASA

FEBRUARY 2019

| COMPOUNDINGS | ILMA.ORG

Photo courtesy of NASA

are up against when it comes to robots like the RASSOR
completing their mission.
While there are excellent solutions available to handle
some of space's other environmental challenges, such as dust,
microgravity and high temperatures, there is plenty of room
for improvement when it comes to those extremely low temperatures. However, until that nut is cracked, alternatives are
being sought.
Smith said that scientists and engineers at NASA's Jet
Propulsion Laboratory are experimenting with new materials
that would allow gearboxes to run without any grease and
get the same efficiency and torque output as a lubricated
gearbox, giving that heater power back to science.
Human exploration of Mars depends on technology
like RASSOR and the ISRU system, and that technology
depends on new solutions to keep it running. After all, if we
send people to the red planet, we'd like them to be able to
return to tell their story.

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ILMA Compoundings – February 2019

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