Revolutionizing Lunar Subsurface Exploration Through Instrumented Drilling Technologies

The REBELS (Rapidly Excavated Borehole for Exploring Lunar Subsurface) system presents an advanced end-to-end technology for accessing, analyzing, and collecting deep regolith deposits on the moon. REBELS leverages a suite of existing, high- TRL (4–7) technologies to accomplish this, including coiled-tube deployment with pneumatic excavation and rotary-percussive drilling. At the surface, the system can harvest the excavated regolith with a pneumatic collection head situated at the top of the borehole. If applicable, REBELS is also capable of melting and extracting water. In addition to ISRU capabilities, REBELS’ Bottom-Hole Assembly (BHA) is equipped with multiple downhole instruments for nondestructive, in situ measurements of the subsurface. The notional instrument suite consists of a microscopic camera and multispectral camera to characterize the borehole wall's texture, granularity, stratigraphy, and mineralogical composition. The instrument suite also includes downhole dielectric spectroscopy probes with integrated temperature sensing for measuring and constraining regolith electrical properties, particularly capacitance and conductivity and assessing water ice content of the subsurface. By enabling exploration beyond the current depth limitations, REBELS will provide invaluable insights into the Moon's geological history, while also providing a promising means of lunar resource utilization, laying the groundwork for future human exploration and habitation of the moon.