URC Science Tasks

Sampling Mechanism

Drill connected to a suction system attached to a descending mechanism
The descending mechanism lowers
Drill collects soil
The turbine powers on and creates a pressure differential creating a region of low pressure inside the container
- This transfers the soil into the container
- From the looks of two in-situ tests are taking place inside the container to check for life
Exhaust of turbine covered by a flap to prevent contamination when idle

Pros	Cons
Tested design at URC, hence soil composition in Utah were considered	Need a mechanism to transfer soil to different location for scientific analysis
Seems Feasible to build, already done previously	Not much data on efficiency and performance
Almost no contamination
Collected almost 30g of soil in 30s

Completely redesign the mechanism or modify it so it can transfort soil to separate containers/test tubes for in-situ analysis

Blow gas (pure nitrogen) into the ground and capture the soil and air mixture through the excavation nozzles to the transport tube
Works on the principle of differential pressure; fluid (air) moves from a region of high pressure to low pressure (excavation nozzle)
Use of nozzles to increase pressure (to facilitate movement) in the P-sampler head.
The soil-air mixture travels through the transport tube into the sampling container.
- Air gets released into the environment through the separator in the transport tube
2 Solenoid valve to control the flow rate of the gas (2 actuation points)
- N2 at a pressure of 65 psi is used

Pros	Cons
Proven and Tested design Lots of data on performance available through the research paper	Lots of sand thrown "blown" into the atmosphere. Could get on the rover and the instruments
Martian Conditions were taken into account	Need "ultra pure" nitrogen gas. Possibly expensive?
Seems contamination free
Seems relatively simple to modify and manufacture
Use relatively less power than drills/scoops.

Divide the transport tube into multiple tubes for testing and analysis.
Shorten the transport tube
Maybe add a mechanism to ascend and descend the mechanism
- Does not hinder the rovers movement
- Reduce sand going into the surroundings from the sample head
Use a cheaper alternative to N2 if N2 is expensive.
Use Dust Covers on the rover