PlanetVac: Regolith Mining Systems for CLPS Blue Ghost Lander

Kris Zacny; Zak Fitzgerald; Helen Jung; Vince Vendiola; Nate Borcyk; Roshan Misra; Mohammad Alattas; Ted Johnson; Krystine Carrington; Christopher Wohl; Rob Mueller; Maria Banks

NASA NTRS · 20240000672

PlanetVac: Regolith Mining Systems for CLPS Blue Ghost Lander

Kris Zacny·Zak Fitzgerald·Helen Jung·Vince Vendiola·Nate Borcyk·Roshan Misra·Mohammad Alattas·Ted Johnson·Krystine Carrington·Christopher Wohl·Rob Mueller·Maria Banks

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Abstract

PlanetVac is a revolutionary technology for acquiring and transferring regolith from almost any planetary body to instruments (for in situ analysis) or sample returned container (for sample return missions). PlanetVac uses a robust and dust tolerant pneumatic approach, similar to traditional pneumatic based pow-der delivery technologies used on Earth. The main difference is the sources of gas: PlanetVac uses a standalone gas canister to provide the working fluid.

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Kris Zacny, Zak Fitzgerald, Helen Jung, Vince Vendiola, Nate Borcyk, Roshan Misra, Mohammad Alattas, Ted Johnson, Krystine Carrington, Christopher Wohl, Rob Mueller, Maria Banks. PlanetVac: Regolith Mining Systems for CLPS Blue Ghost Lander. https://ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/20240000672

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