IL288808A

IL288808A - Vehicle for extraterrestrial use

Info

Publication number: IL288808A
Application number: IL288808A
Authority: IL
Original assignee: Wespace Tech Ltd
Priority date: 2021-12-08
Filing date: 2021-12-08
Publication date: 2023-07-01
Also published as: WO2023105525A1

Description

VEHICLE FOR EXTRATERRESTRIAL USE TECHNICAL FIELD The presently disclosed subject matter relates to the field of space vehicles and, more particularly, but not exclusively, to the field of planetary hoppers.

BACKGROUND Planetary surfaces possess many exotic and interesting landforms, some hundreds of kilometers in extent, with many features that could benefit greatly from prolonged examination. Moreover, some areas are nearly inaccessible from ground travel alone, including the vertical walls of scarps and cliffs, the peaks of steep mountains, and the deep interiors of caves and voids in the subsurface. Hovering flight to, around, and within such targets would offer many exploratory possibilities and revelations.

Moon exploration naturally attracts the attention of the space community, as there are many targets waiting to be explored and characterized. These targets, among others, may be exploring lunar lava caves, gullies, cliffs and craters, prospecting and mapping the polar regions, where ice deposits are distributed deep within permanently shadowed craters. For instance, water is an extremely useful substance in space due to its potential to support terrestrial life, utilized as energy storage and rocket propellant.

A new class of vehicles, such as planetary hoppers for example, are being developed to fly and hover over targets of interest, by utilizing rocket propulsion.

Reference considered to be relevant as background to the presently disclosed subject matter is briefly described below. Acknowledgement of this reference herein is not to be inferred as meaning that it is in any way relevant to the patentability of the presently disclosed subject matter.

Babak E. Cohanim, Thesis (Sc. D.) Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Aeronautics and Astronautics, May 2013, titled "Mission design for safe traverse of planetary hoppers" describes various hopper mission scenarios and considerations for their mission designs, creates an operational concept for safe landing for the traverse hop mission scenario, develops a method that can be used to rapidly and safely detect landing areas at long ranges and low path angles and develops a method to do fine detection of hazards once at the landing area.

GENERAL DESCRIPTION The present disclosure provides, in at least one of its aspects, an autonomous vehicle configured for locomotion on an extraterrestrial body (e.g., a planet such as the Moon) and carrying out one or more missions thereon. The vehicle can be configured to ascend, translate, and descend to new landing points on the surface of the extraterrestrial body and optionally perform low altitude hovering flight to enhance exploration of nearly inaccessible targets of the extraterrestrial body.

Mobility technology of the autonomous vehicle can be based on traversing over the surface of a planetary body in a hopping manner. In effect, the autonomous vehicle can be a hopping vehicle configured for utilizing its engines for translation purposes without the need for ground contact or interaction with a surrounding fluid to provide motive force thereof. That is, its motion is governed primarily by the law of gravity and its own engine thrust rather than the laws of aerodynamics or hydrodynamics. A hopping vehicle can be configured to rest on a planetary surface in between hops and traverse from one resting location to the next regardless of the terrain over which it passes.

Terms "extraterrestrial body surface" and "planetary surface" used interchangeably herein the specification and claims denote a solid surface of an astronomical object (e.g., of planetary bodies such as terrestrial planets, the moon, dwarf planets, etc.).

Thus, in accordance with a first aspect of the presently disclosed subject matter, there is provided an autonomous vehicle for locomotion on an extraterrestrial body and carrying out a mission, comprising: a structure having one or more support panels and at least three legs extending downward therefrom for stably supporting the vehicle on the surface of said body; a propulsion system with one or more thrusters on the vehicle configured for (i) providing vertical lift and for (ii) maneuvering while the vehicle is above the surface; one or more sensors configured for sensing surface or terrain parameters; an autonomous operations control module configured for receiving data representative of said surface or terrain parameters, and for control of operation of the one or more thrusters according to (i) mission plan and (ii) said surface parameters; a communication module; an energy source for energizing the vehicle's electric elements; and thermal control hardware.

The one or more support panels can be configured for carrying various components of the vehicle, and optionally payloads, articulated thereto. The panels may have different shapes, for instance in accordance with mechanical requirements and/or various components of the vehicle. By way of non-limiting example, the support panels may be flat, undulated, curved, may comprise recesses and/or projections thereof (e.g., for receiving various components therein), etc.

Any one or more of the following features, designs and configurations can be applied to the autonomous vehicle of the present disclosure, solely or in various combinations thereof:  The autonomous vehicle can comprise three or four legs.  The propulsion system can be a rocket propulsion system or other propulsion technology.  The autonomous vehicle can further comprise a fuel tank and an oxidizer tank.  The autonomous vehicle can comprise one support panel.  The propulsion system can be disposed on the support panel.  At least one thruster can be disposed at the bottom face of the support panel.  The autonomous vehicle can further comprise a main thruster and auxiliary thrusters disposed at the bottom face of the support panel.  The autonomous vehicle can comprise two propulsion feeding tanks, one comprising fuel and the other comprising an oxidizer, both disposed at the bottom face of the support panel.  The energy source can comprise a rechargeable battery and one or more solar panels.  The solar panels can be disposed on an upper face of the support panel or perpendicular to the support panel or at any other orientation with respect to the support panel.

 The thermal control hardware can comprise a thermal control system (THCS) configured for heating and/or cooling heat-sensitive vehicle components.  The THCS can comprise one or more heat protectors configured for protecting heat-sensitive vehicle components from access solar radiation.  The one or more heat protectors can comprise one or more optical solar reflectors (OSR).  The autonomous vehicle can be part of a constellation of vehicles configured for communication with one another and operating as a group in the performance of the mission.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In order to better understand the subject matter that is disclosed herein and to exemplify how it may be carried out in practice, embodiments will now be described, by way of non-limiting example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1A is a schematic illustration of a top-perspective view of an exemplary autonomous vehicle, in accordance with the presently disclosed subject matter; Fig. 1B is a schematic illustration of a bottom-perspective view of the autonomous vehicle illustrated in Fig. 1A; Fig. 2A is a schematic illustration of a right-side view of the autonomous vehicle illustrated in Fig. 1A; Fig. 2B is a schematic illustration of a rear view of the autonomous vehicle illustrated in Fig. 1A; and Fig. 2C is a schematic illustration of a bottom view the autonomous vehicle illustrated in Fig. 1A.

Claims

1.CLAIMS 1. An autonomous vehicle for locomotion on an extraterrestrial body and carrying out a mission, comprising: a structure having one or more support panels and at least three legs extending downward therefrom for stably supporting the vehicle on the surface of said body; a propulsion system with one or more thrusters on the vehicle configured for (i) providing vertical lift and for (ii) maneuvering while the vehicle is above the surface; one or more sensors configured for sensing surface or terrain parameters; an autonomous operations control module configured for receiving data representative of said surface or terrain parameters, and for control of operation of the one or more thrusters according to (i) mission plan and (ii) said surface parameters; a communication module; an energy source for energizing the vehicle's electric elements; and thermal control hardware.

2. The vehicle of claim 1, comprising three or four legs.

3. The vehicle of claim 1 or 2, wherein the propulsion system is a nuclear propulsion system or rocket propulsion system.

4. The vehicle of claim 3, comprising a fuel tank and an oxidizer tank.

5. The vehicle of any one of claims 1-4, comprising one support panel.

6. The vehicle of claim 5, wherein the propulsion system is disposed on said panel.

7. The vehicle of claim 6, comprising at least one thruster disposed at the bottom face of said panel.

8. The vehicle of claim 7, comprising a main thruster and auxiliary thrusters disposed at the bottom face of said panel.

9. The vehicle of claim 7 or 8, comprising two propulsion feeding tanks, one comprising fuel and the other comprising an oxidizer, both disposed at the bottom face of the panel.

10. The vehicle of any one of claims 1-9, wherein the energy source comprises a rechargeable battery and one or more solar panels.

11. The vehicle of claim 9, wherein the solar panels are disposed on an upper face of said panel.

12. The vehicle of any one of claims 1-11, wherein the thermal control hardware comprises a thermal control system (THCS) configured for heating and/or cooling heat-sensitive vehicle components.

13. The vehicle of any one of claims 1-12, wherein the THCS comprises one or more heat protectors configured for protecting heat-sensitive vehicle components from access solar radiation.

14. The vehicle of claim 13, wherein said one or more heat protectors comprise one or more optical solar reflectors (OSR).

15. The vehicle of any one of claims 1-14, being part of a constellation of vehicles configured for communication with one another and operating as a group in the performance of said mission.