Technologies for mars on-orbit robotic sample capture and transfer concept

Potential Mars Sample Return (MSR) would need a robotic autonomous Orbital Sample (OS) capture and manipulation toward returning the samples to Earth. The OS would be in Martian orbit where a sample capture orbiter could find it and rendezvous with it. The orbiter would capture the OS, manipulate it to a preferential orientation for the samples, transition it through steps required to break-the-chain with Mars, stowing it in a containment vessel or an Earth Entry Vehicle and providing a redundant containment to the OS (e.g., by closing and sealing the lid of the EEV). In this paper, we discuss component technologies developed for in-laboratory evaluation and maturation of concepts toward the robotic capture and manipulation of an Orbital Sample. We discuss techniques for simulating 0-g dynamics of a spherical OS, including contact, in a laboratory setting. In this, we leverage a 5dof gantry system and, alternately, a 6dof KUKA robotic arm to simulate the OS motion. Both the gantry and robotic arm are mounted with a force-torque sensor that enable detection of contact and provide measurements to simulate, in hardware, the 0-g OS dynamics. We present results that demonstrate the validity of our approach and the extent to which we are able to simulate 0-g dynamics in a laboratory setting. We also discuss techniques for detecting and tracking the OS using optical sensors and LIDAR from near-capture distances. These are discussed in the context of individual sensors as well as fusion of multiple sensor readings. Results of hardware experiments with different sensors are presented. Further, we discuss an uncertainty quantification based physics modeling capability for quantitative evaluation of different concepts for OS capture and manipulation. The computational models are based on high-fidelity multibody dynamics simulations of the OS, robotic elements and their contact mechanics. We present results that demonstrate our effective use of computational simulations in a complementary manner to hardware experiments. Finally, we present a cyber-physical approach to concurrently fusing hardware elements, computational simulation elements and autonomy software to effectively and rapidly simulate end-to-end systems concepts for end-to-end orbital sample capture and manipulation system concepts.