Spring -based robotic was in a position to discover the asteroid belt virtually indefinitely

The asteroid belt waves – it contains enough resources so that people expand throughout the rest of the solar system and has no biosphere to speak. Essentially, it is a huge mine that is just waiting to be exploited. A student team of the University of Texas in Austin has developed a plan to use it as part of the revolutionary aerospace and space system concepts to use it, a competition sponsored by NASA to promote students and doctoral students to promote innovative Encourage innovative Bachelor students to develop innovatively. Ideas to solve some challenges of space research. The submission of UT Austin in the competition last year, which is known as an autonomous exploration by the project for extraterrestrial regions (Ather), certainly fits this bill.

The ether was submitted to the sub-section of Rasc-Al 2024 for AI-driven self-sterplifying probes that asked for ideas that John von Neumann's idea of ​​a self-relapplating spacecraft would advance. The ether deals with these challenges in two different ways.

First, it combines a spring-loaded landing system and a metal rocket engine to jump between different asteroids in the belt. To fuel its rocket, it uses a system for harvesting water and metal (especially aluminum) from the surface of the asteroid trip to another asteroid. All of this is powered by a kilowatt reactor with Stirling Technoloy (Krusty) nuclear reactor, which has been subjected to NASA and DOE tests for over a decade.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vo863_0si_o

Fraser discusses the concept of Neumann's probes.

The feathers in the legs of the ether have a double purpose. First, they enable a soft landing on the surface of the gravitatively weak asteroid and can transmit part of the energy that is generated by this landing into stored energy, with which the system can later be started from the landing site from its landing site. It also has a number of bikes to navigate the surface of the asteroid. When it is time to jump from it again, it reproduces its legs and comes back into space – with a little help from the rocket engine.

The rocket engine developed as part of the ether can burn metal such as aluminum, which makes the craft from asteroid to fuel. It is the primary system that takes over the craft from asteroids to asteroids, and it should quickly do a top -class option for this.

Aether also tries to imitate one of Neumann's probe by using a machine-learning algorithm to improve his efforts to harvest resources. It would require data from various sensors, including radar with synthetic apertur and a spectrometer, and estimate where the best place would be to refuel. While collecting this additional fuel material, it would come back via an optical communication connection with high-speed communication with the earth, so that an earth-based server can update the parameters of machine learning and improve the result of the algorithm for the next hop.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5VETRH_FHXI

Fraser's interest in self-relappling robots is far back-his explanation of Herox is about the concept.
Credit – Herox YouTube Canal

The original mission design for Aether has encountered two specific asteroids before it has not yet been mentioned. The first thing that is probably not a surprise is psyche, the great metallic asteroid, which is to be visited by his own committed probe. Data from this probe will help inform the first iteration of the learning algorithm of the ether, and the input that the sensors provide from his visit update it before his next step – Themis. Asteroid, although smaller, contains a large amount of water ice, which is a necessary component for the rocket engines from Aether.

After visiting the first two asteroids, the mission goes to strangers because filling out this steps is seen as a success. In view of the longevity of the Krusty reactor and the ability of the vehicle to replenish his own fuel tank, it is possible or even likely that the ether would consider working well beyond his rendezvous with Themis.

The UT Austin team consisted exclusively of students in basic studies, although it is unclear in 2025 version. If this is the case, your idea will hopefully be just as innovative as Aether.

Learn more:
Flowers Etan
Ut – miniaturized jumping robots could examine the gravity of an asteroid
UT – NASA finances the development of a nuclear reactor on the moon that would take 10 years
UT – engineers design a robot that can stick to it, crawl and sail through stacks

Lead picture:
Landing and exhaust representation of the ether.
Credit – Flowers et al.

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