TELESCOPING SAMPLE CANISTER CAPTURE MECHANISM (TSCCM)

摘要

Sample return from solar system bodies including planets, moons, comets and asteroids is of high importance within the space science community. A returned sample will allow much more elaborate and detailed analysis not feasible through remote robotic analysis. For this reason, Honeybee Robotics has developed a low-cost reusable, automated on-orbit sample canister capture mechanism. The purpose of the mechanism is to capture a full sample canister and transfer it to a storage cache, sample return spacecraft, or on-orbit laboratory for further scientific study. The current design allows for reliable misalignment-compensated capture for various sample container geometries in any initial orientation. After capture, the sample canister is aligned and presented for transfer. Honeybee has demonstrated the concept through tests of two- and three-dimensional telescopic capture mechanism breadbaords. The telescopic capture mechanism design is scalable, minimizes volume and can be made of lightweight material to minmize mass, all of which are critical aspects of spacecraft design.