| 1. |
- Anthony, Niklas, et al.
(författare)
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Laboratory experiments with a laser-based attachment mechanism for spacecraft at small bodies
- 2021
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Ingår i: Acta Astronautica. - : Elsevier. - 0094-5765 .- 1879-2030. ; 189, s. 391-397
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We present the results of two sets of experiments that investigate laser-based metal-to-rock attachment techniques. Asteroids and comets have low surface gravity which pose a challenge to landers with moving parts. Such parts can generate torques and forces which may tip the lander over or launch it into deep space. Thus, if a lander on a small body is to have moving parts, the spacecraft must be equipped with an anchoring mechanism. To this end, we sought to use a laser to melt and bind a piece of metal mimicking a part of a spacecraft to a rock mimicking the surface of a typical asteroid. In the first set of experiments, extra material was not fed in during the processing. The second set were performed using a standard wire feeder used in laser welding, which added metal to the experiment during processing. During the first experiments, we discovered that a traditional weld, where two melt pools mix and solidify to form a strong bond, was not possible—the melt pools would not mix, and when they did, the resulting weld was extremely brittle. The second set of experiments resulted in a physico-mechanical bond, where a hole was drilled with a laser, and a wire was melted and fed into the hole. These latter experiments were successful in forming bonds as strong as 115 N. Such an attachment mechanism can also be used to maneuver small boulders on asteroid surfaces, to redirect small, monolithic asteroids, or in space-debris removal.
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| 2. |
- Anthony, Niklas, et al.
(författare)
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Laser-induced spallation of minerals common on asteroids
- 2021
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Ingår i: Acta Astronautica. - : Elsevier. - 0094-5765 .- 1879-2030. ; 182, s. 325-331
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The ability to deflect dangerous small bodies in the Solar System or redirect profitable ones is a necessary and worthwhile challenge. One well-studied method to accomplish this is laser ablation, where solid surface material sublimates, and the escaping gas creates a momentum exchange. Alternatively, laser-induced spallation and sputtering could be a more efficient means of deflection, yet little research has studied these processes in detail. We used a 15-kW Ytterbium fiber laser on samples of olivine, pyroxene, and serpentine (minerals commonly found on asteroids) to induce spallation. We observed the process with a high-speed camera and illumination laser, and used X-ray micro-tomography to measure the size of the holes produced by the laser to determine material removal efficiency. We found that pyroxene will spallate at power densities between 1.5 and 6.0 kW cm−2, serpentine will also spallate at 13.7 kW cm−2, but olivine does not spallate at 1.5 kW cm−2 and higher power densities melt the sample. Laser-induced spallation of pyroxene and serpentine can be two- to three-times more energy efficient (volume removed per unit of absorbed energy) than laser-induced spattering, and over 40x more efficient than laser ablation.
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| 3. |
- Anthony, Niklas, et al.
(författare)
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Laser processing of minerals common on asteroids
- 2021
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Ingår i: Optics and Laser Technology. - : Elsevier. - 0030-3992 .- 1879-2545. ; 135
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Asteroid mining and redirection are two trends that both can utilize lasers, one to drill and cut, the other to ablate and move. Yet little is known about what happens when a laser is used to process the types of materials we typically expect to find on most asteroids. To shed light on laser processing of asteroid material, we used a 300-W, pulsed Ytterbium fiber laser on samples of olivine, pyroxene, and serpentine, and studied the process with a high-speed camera and illumination laser at 10 000 frames per second. We also measure the sizes of the resulting holes using X-ray micro-tomography to find the pulse parameters which remove the largest amount of material using the least amount of energy. We find that at these power densities, all three minerals will melt and chaotically throw off spatter. Short, low-power pulses can efficiently produce thin, deep holes, and long, high-power pulses are more energy efficient at removing the most amount of material.
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| 4. |
- Jenniskens, Peter, et al.
(författare)
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The impact and recovery of asteroid 2018 LA
- 2021
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Ingår i: Meteoritics and Planetary Science. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 1086-9379 .- 1945-5100. ; 56:4, s. 844-893
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The June 2, 2018 impact of asteroid 2018 LA over Botswana is only the second asteroid detected in space prior to impacting over land. Here, we report on the successful recovery of meteorites. Additional astrometric data refine the approach orbit and define the spin period and shape of the asteroid. Video observations of the fireball constrain the asteroid's position in its orbit and were used to triangulate the location of the fireball's main flare over the Central Kalahari Game Reserve. Twenty‐three meteorites were recovered. A consortium study of eight of these classifies Motopi Pan as an HED polymict breccia derived from howardite, cumulate and basaltic eucrite, and diogenite lithologies. Before impact, 2018 LA was a solid rock of ~156 cm diameter with high bulk density ~2.85 g cm−3, a relatively low albedo pV ~ 0.25, no significant opposition effect on the asteroid brightness, and an impact kinetic energy of ~0.2 kt. The orbit of 2018 LA is consistent with an origin at Vesta (or its Vestoids) and delivery into an Earth‐impacting orbit via the ν6 resonance. The impact that ejected 2018 LA in an orbit toward Earth occurred 22.8 ± 3.8 Ma ago. Zircons record a concordant U‐Pb age of 4563 ± 11 Ma and a consistent 207Pb/206Pb age of 4563 ± 6 Ma. A much younger Pb‐Pb phosphate resetting age of 4234 ± 41 Ma was found. From this impact chronology, we discuss what is the possible source crater of Motopi Pan and the age of Vesta's Veneneia impact basin.
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