ORBIT 1

Operation Robot Built In Tandon

NASA Robotic Mining Competition 2018

The ORBIT 1 rover was designed to be a robust, high volume robotic miner for the NASA Robotic Mining Competition. It employed an adjustable, central excavation drum, mounted on a carbon fiber frame, and can reach a theoretical mining rate of 2kg of BP-1 (Martian Regolith Simulant) per minute.

The concept of the effectiveness of a "digging wheel" has been proved by the previous Atlas series miners. The primary concept behind ORBIT 1's design is using a high torque, high speed central wheel to excavate and store collected regolith. The original intention behind the design of ORBIT 1 was the use of a dual rover system, where the ORBIT 1 rover would serve solely for excavation, while a secondary rover would transport excavated regolith from the mining site to the deposition type, hence the small carrying capacity of the rover (10kg).

ORBIT 1 proved an effective excavater during the 2018 NASA Robotic Mining Competition; however, it failed during the deposition portion of its run due to a mechanical failure in the deposition mechanism. Nevertheless, ORBIT 1 proves the strengths of a "mining wheel" compared to other, traditional mining mechanisms.

Altas 7

Atlas Robotic Mining Rover 7

NASA Robotic Mining Competition 2017

The Atlas 7 Robotic Mining Rover was designed to be a small, light-weight, and efficient robotic miner for the NASA Robotic Mining Competition. It employed a combined locomotive and excavation systems to achieve a sub-average mass and dimensioning, while theoretically maintaining an effective mining rate. Furthermore, its unique 3D printed body provided for a cost-effective and robust fabrication process.

Atlas 7 utilized four combined digging and movement wheels. The wheels were fabricated from ABS plastic using 3D printing techniques. Atlas 7's frame was fabricated using carbon tiber tubing, to maintain structural stability, while keeping a low mass. Collection and deposition of the mined regolith was done using a vertically adjustable conveyor belt.

While Atlas 7 was a unique design, it fell short of mining the required volume. The motors driving the digging wheels did not have a high enough torque to excavate the more compact, subsurface regolith. The stalled motors we both unable to mine more regolith, nor was it able to move the rover, resulting in overall mission failure.

Atlas 6

Atlas Robotic Mining Rover Prototype 6

NASA Robotic Mining Competition 2017 Prototype

At Atlas 6 Robotic Mining Rover Prototype was the functional predecessor to the Atlas 7 and was built to demonstrate the effectiveness of a combined locomotive and excavation mechanism in a robotic mining rover.

While the Atlas 6 was very lightweight, it did not have the structural stability to withstand the stresses of off-world mining simulations.