Abstract
Off-Earth drilling may be assumed as the second phase of space exploration to discover the unrevealed subsurface on the planetary bodies. It accelerates future space objectives such as in-situ propellant production, mineral exploitation, and space tourism. Owing to the rampant progress in modern technology, the new drill tools mounted on the sophisticated robots are capable to drill the planetary regolith dispersed on the celestial objects; however, formidable obstacles such as microgravity, vacuum condition, and temperature fluctuation as well as the weight limitation, lack of real-time drilling analysis, and remote robot-operator communication impose pressing restrictions on the quick development of space drilling tools. In this study, research on the past and present aspects of off-Earth drilling has been implemented to illuminate the horizon of this technology in the near-term future. The context encompasses a detailed description of the limitations, applications and mechanisms of the different drilling techniques adopted for planetary bodies. A particular emphasis is put on the hydraulic power systems which have not been satisfactorily deployed in off-Earth drilling yet. The research strives to glance over the pivotal aspects of off-Earth drilling to contribute to the future drilling programs planned by the national and private space agencies.
Highlights
Together with the curiosity sense, scientists have always been interested in revealing the nature of the soils and rocks found on distant planets
Such sources of information might be in the form of journal papers, conference papers, scientific reports, online videos, websites of different space agencies, catalogs of companies manufacturing space equipment, universities offering space drilling programs, etc
If a video on NASA’s website presented the versatility of a special rover, e.g., Perseverance, it was inserted in the “drilling applications” category
Summary
Together with the curiosity sense, scientists have always been interested in revealing the nature of the soils and rocks found on distant planets. This aids human beings to distinguish the principal differences between the Earth and other planets. If more demanding missions such as Mars-one and Artemis programs are expected to be successful, the astronauts require to be accommodated in safely permanent outposts on Mars and Moon, respectively. To provide such circumstances, the need to utilize space drilling techniques is inevitably vital. The current major applications of space drilling can be divided into subsurface drilling, sampling, water mining, anchoring and building of surface and underground habitats
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