Scientists have unveiled a system to collect lunar regolith
Scientists at the University of Bristol have unveiled a new teleoperation system for collecting lunar dust that could be a key tool for future lunar missions. The system allows operators to control a robot collecting lunar regolith samples using a virtual simulation that then sends commands to a physical robot.
This allows operators to control the robot without having direct access to the lunar surface, which is especially important for future lunar missions when the operators will be on Earth and the robots will be working on the Moon.
Tests of the system have shown that it works effectively and can be used for future lunar missions. The system was tested at the European Space Agency's European Space Applications and Telecommunications Center site in Harwell. Scientists plan to further develop the teleoperation system and use it for future lunar missions. They also plan to investigate how humans interact with this system by controlling the robot, with a delay of a few seconds.
This system is part of a larger lunar dust and regolith research program. Lunar dust is a valuable resource for future lunar missions, and collecting it is a key step toward utilizing the Moon's resources. Several manned and unmanned missions to the Moon are planned for the next decade, such as NASA's Artemis program and China's Chang'e program. This simulation could be a valuable tool to support the preparation or conduct of such missions.