TETHERS UNLIMITED, INC. — National Aeronautics and Space Administration SBIR Phase I: Z5

Description

To enable future Lunar ISRU missions to more effectively explore, sample, and excavate within the permanently shaded polar craters, Tethers Unlimited Inc. (TUI) proposes to develop thenbsp;Sensing and Positioning In Deep Environments with Retrieval (SPIDER) System.nbsp;nbsp;Thenbsp;SPIDER concept is an innovative exploration architecture that shatters the mold of traditional wheeled, legged, or propulsive hopper vehicles.nbsp;nbsp;Instead, SPIDER utilizes launchable tethered anchors and on-board winches to perform landing, mobility, and sampling operations while suspended over the crater of interest.nbsp;nbsp;The concept is akin to the ldquo;skycamsrdquo; used in sports arenas, and it eliminates several major concerns with ground-based rovers, including: 1) entrapment, 2) overturning, 3) contamination of the sample site, and 4) lunar dust in the mechanisms.In the Phase I effort, TUI will perform concept development, design, and engineering of the launchable tethered anchoring system and accompanying winch sized for a specific lunar crater and to accommodate an ISRU payload to be agreed upon with the sponsor.nbsp;At the end of the Phase I the SPIDER technology will be at TRL 4.nbsp;nbsp;Prototyping and testing of the integrated system will be performed in the Phase II effort, establishing the design at TRL 6.