In this project my team was required to design, manufacture and test a drill and sample extraction system to be retrofitted to a previously built Mars rover.
Our solution was also required to interface with two other teams responsible for the drill positioning and sample storage. Therefore, it was important for our teams to meet regularly to ensure that our separate systems would join seamlessly by the end of the project.
My key contribution to the project was the design of the capsules that would drill into the Martian soil and be capable of closing to retrieve the soil sample. I achieved this through a rapid prototyping phase, using cardboard and 3D models to test my ideas. The remainder of the drill was designed in SolidWorks CAD with technical drawings made to allow for a mixture of in-house and outsourced manufacture.
The final results showed that the completed sampling system was capable of collecting soil samples while maintaining the sample's stratigraphy.
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