Week 8 - Pedro C.

I was able to sit down with Dr. Britt and discuss our project along with how we can get ahold of Martian regolith for testing from the Exolith lab at UCF.

Dr. Dan Britt

Pegasus Professor of Astronomy and Planetary Sciences at the Department of Physics

Zoom meeting 3/4/25

Start time: 1:30

End time: 2:15

Thoughts on the initial idea?

He thinks it's definitely something that has potential. This has definitely been something people have thought about for a while and our project sounds like a good approach.

What type of tire/wheel should we look into?

He pointed us in the direction of the NASA Lunabotics competition. There we will able able to see several different systems and how well or bad they perform.

Can we get Martian soil to test solar panel cleaning?

The Exolith lab is able to produce high amounts of regolith, however if all we need is a small amount then he’s able to provide about 0.5 Kg.

In terms of soil, what are some notable factors that we need to consider when writing our documentation that would be important to keep in mind?

The regolith is a very fine grain, and several soils on earth are quite different. So our best approach is to test with regolith as soon as possible.

Can we test the drive system at the Exolith lab?

They Have a bin that is 10 by 10 feet filled with regolith.

How detailed should a Free body diagram be for our project?

First test with the Exolith lab, and to visit to just reach out to Dr. Britt personally.

Extra Notes:

Nasa Lunabotics in The Middle of May