University of Arizona aerospace and mining engineers are mapping out a plan
for harvesting the moon’s resources using autonomous robot swarms and new
excavation techniques.
With scientists beginning to more seriously consider constructing bases on
celestial bodies such as the moon, the idea of space mining is growing in
popularity.
After all, if someone from Los Angeles was moving to New York to build a
house, it would be a lot easier to buy the building materials in New York
rather than buy them in Los Angeles and lug them 2,800 miles. Considering
the distance between Earth and the moon is about 85 times greater, and that
getting there requires defying gravity, using the moon’s existing resources
is an appealing idea.
A University of Arizona team, led by researchers in the College of
Engineering, has received $500,000 in NASA funding for a new project to
advance space-mining methods that use swarms of autonomous robots. As a
Hispanic-Serving Institution, the university was eligible to receive funding
through NASA’s Minority University Research and Education Project Space
Technology Artemis Research Initiative.
“It’s really exciting to be at the forefront of a new field,” said Moe
Momayez, interim head of the Department of Mining and Geological Engineering
and the David & Edith Lowell Chair in Mining and Geological Engineering.
“I remember watching TV shows as a kid, like ‘Space: 1999,’ which is all
about bases on the moon. Here we are in 2021, and we’re talking about
colonizing the moon.”
Blast Off!
According to the Giant Impact Hypothesis, Earth and the moon came from a
common parent body, so scientists expect their chemical compositions to be
relatively similar. Mining on the moon’s surface could turn up rare earth
metals needed for technologies such as smartphones and medical equipment,
titanium for use in titanium alloys, precious metals such as gold and
platinum, and helium-3 – a stable helium isotope that could fuel nuclear
power plants but is extremely rare on Earth.
To mine for ore embedded in rock on Earth, miners need to drill through the
rock, which is one of Momayez’s specialties. He’s developed an
electrochemical process to drill through rock five times faster than any
other method. But lunar mining presents a new challenge.
“Here on Earth, we have an unlimited amount of energy to throw at breaking
rocks,” he said. “On the moon, you have to be a lot more conservative. For
example, to break rocks, we use a lot of water, and that’s something we
won’t have on the moon. So, we need new processes, new techniques. The most
efficient way to break rocks on Earth is through blasting, and nobody has
ever set off a blast on the moon.”
Robot Swarms, Powered by HEART
Finding the best way to mine lunar materials from a laboratory space on
Earth is a tall order for humans. That’s where autonomous robot swarms come
in.
Jekan Thanga, an associate professor of aerospace and mechanical
engineering, is adapting a neuromorphic learning architecture technique,
which he developed in his lab, called the Human and Explainable Autonomous
Robotic System, or HEART. The system not only will train robots to work
together on mining, excavation and even building tasks, but it will also
allow the robots to improve their collaboration skills over time.
The team plans to build and train the robots here on Earth, so they can
practice. Ultimately, the researchers envision a fully autonomous swarm of
robots that doesn’t need to receive instructions from Earth to mine
materials and construct simple structures.
“In a sense, we’re like farmers. We’re breeding talent out of these
creatures, or a whole family of creatures, to do certain tasks,” Thanga
said. “By going through this process, we help perfect these artificial
creatures whose job it is to do the mining tasks.”
The team still considers humans a critical part of space exploration, but
these robot swarms could free up astronauts to focus on other critical
mission elements.
“The idea is to have the robots build, set things up and do all the dirty,
boring, dangerous stuff, so the astronauts can do the more interesting
stuff,” Thanga said.
Students Play a Key Role
Momayez and Thanga aren’t alone in their enthusiasm. One of the reasons they
decided to pursue this venture is that undergraduate students are so
interested in it.
“Every time I got out and talk about space exploration, there’s really a
storm of students who are enthusiastic about mining,” Thanga said. “Seeing
all these students inspired to get involved has been a big drive.”
Thanga’s ASTEROIDS Laboratory runs a NASA-funded Undergraduate Research and
Education Program, in which students spend a year leading their own research
projects. In the past, students in the program have presented their work at
conferences and worked on journal papers. With the new NASA funding, Momayez
and Thanga intend to add a module to the program focused on space mining.
Students will learn about both autonomous robot swarms and excavation
techniques – in the classroom, in the laboratory and even in the
university’s student-run San Xavier Mine.
“They can test their robots at the mine, they can excavate, they can drill,
they can blast,” Momayez said. “And with the establishment of the new School
of Mining and Mineral Resources, we hope to get more students from all over
the world involved in mining.”
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