ONE-METER CLASS DRILLING FOR PLANETARY EXPLORATION

DEFINITIVE CONTRACT won by HONEYBEE ROBOTICS, LTD. · work in FLAGSTAFF, AZ

$12,534,768

Recipient	HONEYBEE ROBOTICS, LTD. UEI F7UHKQTEYHW8
Award ID	80NSSC20C0677
Award amount	$12,534,768
Award type	DEFINITIVE CONTRACT
Awarding agency	National Aeronautics and Space Administration — National Aeronautics and Space Administration
NAICS	541715 — RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT IN THE PHYSICAL, ENGINEERING, AND LIFE SCIENCES (EXCEPT NANOTECHNOLOGY AND BIOTECHNOLOGY)
PSC	AR11
Start date	Sep 14, 2020
End date	Dec 31, 2022
Place of performance	FLAGSTAFF, AZ
Record updated	Mar 24, 2023

View the official award record

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DRAGONFLY RELOADABLE LANDER TO EXPLORE TITAN'S PREBIOTIC CHEMISTRY AND HABITABILITY ANNOUNCEMENT OF OPPORTUNITY NNH16ZD011O

National Aeronautics and Space Administration · $92,740,848 · Dec 17, 2018

DESIGN, PROTOTYPE, AND TEST THE LUNAR ARRAY MAST AND POWER SYSTEM (LAMPS), A SOLAR PANEL SYSTEM DESIGNED TO PROVIDE 10 KILOWATTS OF ELECTRICAL POWER AND BE ROBOTICALLY DEPLOYABLE AT THE SOUTH POLE OF THE LUNAR SURFACE.

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THE CONTRACTOR SHALL DEVELOP TECHNOLOGY FOR ACQUIRING AND TRANSFERRING REGOLITH FROM THE LUNAR SURFACE TO INSTRUMENTS AND SAMPLE RETURN CONTAINERS

National Aeronautics and Space Administration · $5,326,462 · Nov 19, 2019

REDWATER COMBINES THE TWO TECHNOLOGIES INTO ONE: IT USES THE CT APPROACH TO CREATE A HOLE (FIGURE 1). ONCE THE HOLE IS MADE, THE COILED TUBING IS LEFT IN THE HOLE AND USED AS CONDUIT FOR WATER EXTRACTION. THE BHA CONTAINS A ROTARY-PERCUSSIVE DRILL SUBSYSTEM (SIMILAR TO THE ONE USED IN HONEYBEE ROBOTICS DEEP DRILL3), A DOWNHOLE PUMP, AND HEATERS. THE TUBE HOUSES AN INSULATED AND HEATED HOSE AS WELL AS WIRES FOR DOWNHOLE MOTORS AND HEATERS. DURING DRILLING, COMPRESSED GAS IS SEND DOWNHOLE THROUGH THE HOSE. THE GAS ESCAPES THROUGH THE ANNUAL SPACE BETWEEN THE TUBE AND BOREHOLE WALL AND REMOVES CHIPS THAT CAN BE COLLECTED AND ANALYZED FOR SCIENCE. UPON REACHING AN ICE LAYER, THE DRILL CONTINUES FOR ANOTHER 3 M AND THEN STOPS ADVANCING FORWARD, BUT THE BIT CONTINUOUS SPINNING. HEATERS ARE TURNED ON TO MELT THE SURROUNDING ICE. ONCE ICE STARTS TO MELT, THE PERISTALTIC PUMP STARTS PUMPING A FRACTION OF THE MELTED WATER UP THE SAME HOSE THAT WAS USED FOR THE COMPRESSED GAS, AND INTO A STORAGE TANK ON THE SURFACE VIA A 3-WAY HEATED VALVE (VALVE SWITCHES BETWEEN THE GAS TANK AND WATER TANK). THE REMAINING WATER PASSES THROUGH A DOWNHOLE HEATER AND IS PUMPED INTO THE ROTATING BIT FOR WATER JETTING THIS CONTINUOUS STIRRING OF WATER AND INJECTION OF HOT WATER SPEEDS UP THE MELTING PROCESS. AFTER MELTING A SECTION OF ICE, THE CT IS REACTIVATED TO DRILL FURTHER AND THE MELTING PROCESS CONTINUES. SINCE ATMOSPHERIC PRESSURE AT ARCADIA PLANITIA IS ABOVE THE TRIPLE POINT OF WATER, LIQUID WATER CAN EXIST. HOWEVER, IT IS UNSTABLE AND CAN BOIL OFF VERY QUICKLY. FOR THIS REASON, IT WOULD BE DESIRABLE TO SEAL OFF THE HOLE. THIS CAN BE ACHIEVED VIA ACTIVE MEANS (A PACKER CAN EXPAND IN A HOLE AND SEAL THE ANNULAR SPACE BETWEEN THE TUBE AND THE BOREHOLE) OR PASSIVE MEANS (WATER VAPOR WOULD RE-CONDENSE ON THE COLD BOREHOLE WALL AND SEAL IT THIS IN FACT HAS BEEN OBSERVED). THE TUBE WOULD HAVE TO BE HEATED TO FREE ITSELF UP BEFORE CONTINUING FURTHER DOWN, WHEN NEEDED. OUR PNEUMATIC EXCAVATION TESTS AT 7 TORR SHOWED PENETRATION RATES OF 1 M/MIN IN REGOLITH4. THE MASS RATIO OF GAS USED TO MATERIAL REMOVED OUT OF THE HOLE WAS 1:500. ASSUMING A 5 CM DIAMETER HOLE (CURRENT BASELINE FOR REDWATER), THE REQUIRED MASS OF GAS WOULD BE 10 KG. MOST OF THE SOURCES OF COMPRESSED GAS ARE AT HIGH TRL. GAS CAN BE BROUGHT FROM THE EARTH (MARS2020 MISSION BRINGS A TANK OF COMPRESSED N2 TO BLOW DUST OFF ROCKS), HELIUM PRESSURANT CAN BE USED FROM LANDED SYSTEMS, ROCKET FUEL CAN BE BURNED AND TURNED INTO GAS, AND ISRU GASSES (H2/O2) COULD ALSO BE USED. FINALLY, A COMPRESSOR COULD COMPRESS MARTIAN AIR. MOXI ON MARS2020 HAS A COMPRESSOR THAT WOULD TAKE 100 HOURS TO COMPRESS 10 KG OF CO2 FROM 7 TORR TO 760 TORR. TO EXTRACT THE REQUIRED 16 TONS OF WATER, A POOL OF APPROXIMATELY 3.1 M IN DIAMETER HAS TO BE CREATED, WHICH IS FEASIBLE. THE PROCESS OF WATER EXTRACTION WOULD TAKE SEVERAL WEEKS. OUR THERMAL MODELS USING MATHCAD AS WELL AS CALCULATIONS SHOW THAT REQUIRE HEAT FOR MELTING IS 1.5 KW AND FOR KEEPING THE WATER HOSE WARM ALONG THE 25 M LENGTH IS 1 KW. FIGURE 1 SHOWS REDWATER SYSTEM ON ATHLETE ROVER. IT USES SOLAR PANELS AND MMRTG TO PROVIDE ELECTRICAL POWER AND HEAT. FIGURE 2 SHOWS REDWATER IN ITS STORED CONFIGURATION FOR LAUNCH WHILE FIGURE 3 SHOWS THE UNDERCARRIAGE AND BHA.

National Aeronautics and Space Administration · $3,924,956 · Apr 19, 2019

THE SAMPLE ACQUISITION AT MARS (SAM) SUITE INVESTIGATION WILL CAST A WIDE ANALYTICAL NET TO CAPTURE CHEMICAL INDICATORS OF THE HABITABILITY OF MARS. SAM WILL "FIND THE CARBON" REVEALING THEIR LIKELY SOURCE AND TRANSFORMATIONAL PROCESSES.

National Aeronautics and Space Administration · $2,362,873 · Aug 1, 2020

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