How are scientists testing lunar equipments without leaving the earth?
This ‘Moon in the Mojave’ was created by Astrobotic, a spaceflight business that has been developing the Lunar Surface Proving Ground.
The 100m2 (about. 1,000ft2) site was designed to look exactly like the lunar south pole. The region was overlooked by early Moon visitors, but has seen a surge of interest in the last decade after evidence of water ice was discovered in the perpetually shadowed recesses of deep craters. Such water could be an important resource for both scientists and future explorers.
They are just two of several missions supporting NASA’s Artemis plan, which aims to send humans to the lunar surface, including the first woman and person of colour, by the end of the decade. As a result, tests are critical for identifying and resolving possible issues while they are still manageable. However, since your vehicle is destined for a landscape unlike any other on Earth, these tests are difficult to complete.
The Next Gen Spacecraft – Lunar Trials
The Soviet Lunokhod robotic rover and the Apollo human-driven rover were both planned and built in the 1960s, before anyone had a clear understanding of what the lunar surface was like. Both were tested on Earth, but when the Soviet drivers of Lunokhod-1 first used the rover’s remote controls, it was clear that the rehearsals were tragically inadequate.
With no atmosphere or colour to create a feeling of depth on the Moon, interpreting the topography of the landscape is challenging at best, but the Lunokhod-1’s black and white cameras erased any subtlety that may have made it easier. Astrobotic has been able to correctly scan the area where it intends to land, allowing the business to reproduce the topography of the LSPG.
Challenges Ahead of the Lunar Exploration
As trivial as it may appear, one of the most difficult difficulties for landers and rovers at the lunar south pole is light. The Sun appears low on the horizon, at between 5 and 10 degrees, casting long shadows.
It indicates there are shaded places in and around craters that have been dark for billions of years, allowing water to live on the lunar surface for so long. However, the shadows make it impossible to observe the scenery clearly.
Recreating the landscape
The actual Moon is shrouded with fine dust. This regolith, as it is known, was produced billions of years ago when large and small meteorites struck the surface and ground up the rock.
However, you would not have to travel far from Astrobotic’s LSPG to find a recreated lunar environment with realistic dust. NASA’s Ames Research Centre, which houses the Lunar Lab and Regolith Testbeds, is located close in Silicon Valley. Two windowless chambers with black walls ensure complete darkness when lights are turned off. In the centre of each area is a massive sandbox with 20 tonnes of imitation Moon dirt.
The dust grains behave as tiny reflectors, bending light in odd directions that can confound cameras and computers attempting to assess the terrain. NASA engineers may create craters, mounds, and other shapes on the testbeds, allowing them to test their navigation systems under various illumination conditions.
A big question that tangles is that, ‘can the rover get stuck?’ During several of these tests, the rover became stuck. This was actually a good thing, because it not only helped shape the rover’s design to lessen the odds of it becoming trapped on the Moon, but it also allowed the operators to develop new procedures to help them remove the rover if it did.
The Apollo astronauts confronted numerous dust-related issues. The tiny powder was easily inhaled, resulting in lung discomfort. The dust also harmed the mission’s non-human components. It was so abrasive that it ate through spacesuits and gummed up equipment joints. Finally, one of the most difficult aspects of testing lunar equipment is simulating the Moon’s variable gravity.
Conclusion
Indeed, there will be no way to test each component of a lunar vehicle until it reaches the surface. NASA’s long-term objective is to establish a research base on the Moon, so that future explorers can test their concepts on the actual surface. Until then, they’ll have to make due with homemade Moons such as Astrobotic’s LSPG and NASA’s regolith bins, which can be found on Earth.
