STM Sampling Tool Mechanism for Low Gravity Bodies

2012 - 2014 | ESA

Development of a mechanism to collect hundreds of grams of regolith in Low gravity Bodies.

After performing a trade-off of the existing technologies to collect samples, AVS developed a three brush system that drags the soil into a celtral canister. The canister has a special design to avoid the soil exiting it and a closing mechanism too. It is a very robust system extensivelly tested on-ground and also validated in parabolic flight under Zero-G conditions.

Science and Exploration missions as well as Sample Return and ISRU missions, can benefit of the performances of this technology.