Bio-Inspired Landing and Attachment System for Miniaturised Surface Modules

摘要

The study proposes a biologically inspired concept to land and firmly attach swarms of miniaturised satellites or probes to the surface of low gravity objects. The probes are shot at relatively low speed towards the surface of the body to which they are fixed using a combined and miniaturised damping and attachment system, inspired by the dry-adhesion of geckos and spiders. When compared to more traditional fully controlled landing systems, this solution promises to provide a high payload to mass fraction while reducing system complexity. A preliminary design of the landing system is presented and the most critical issues are discussed.