A Venus Durable Actuator and Electronics System

Venus surface conditions are exceptionally challenging for the use of surface platforms due to the 460°C, 91 atmosphere caustic Venus surface environmental conditions. Thus, the HOTTech II goal is "to develop and mature technologies that will enable, significantly enhance, or reduce technical risk for in-situ missions to high-temperature environments with temperatures of 500 degrees Celsius or higher for a period of at least 60 days". Such missions must be tailored for operation in the Venus surface environment and include technologies viable for operation in such conditions. For example, the most viable proposed mission for long-lived 60 day Venus surface operations is the Long Lived In Situ Solar System Explorer (LLISSE) including, e.g., meteorology and chemical species measurements based in part on advances in Silicon Carbide (SiC) electronics. Further, LLISSE is a lander platform from which a range of missions can be accomplished upon the introduction of appropriate science enhancing technology and capabilities, e.g., a Venus durable seismometer. Other technologies can also provide increased capabilities and improved science to such a platform. Honeybee Robotics, NASA Glenn Research Center, and OAI propose the development and demonstration of a Venus Durable Actuator and Electronics System specifically tailored for lander platforms such as LLISSE. This is a smaller actuator system scaled to provide functionalities such as deployment of a seismometer, windmill power generation, a robotic arm for sample examination, or a positioning motor system. In particular, as an example application, this actuator system targets compatibility with the Venus In-Situ Surface System Imager (VISSI) under development in PICASSO. VISSI is OAI led and modeled after the imaging system of the Viking Mars lander cameras with a low-bandwidth, linear array, scanning platform capable of gradually building up a high resolution panorama of a landing site for extended durations on the Venus surface. The emphasis of VISSI is on SiC electronic circuits, optical detectors, and components with limited development of an actuator system; this proposal provides such an actuation system with an approach and material selection appropriate for 60 days of Venus surface operations. In conjunction with this actuation system development, we will leverage significant high-temperature, harsh environment expertise in designing and fabricating SiC based electronic circuits that are able to function stably in the uncooled, ambient Venus surface environment. The core electronics have already shown durable operation in simulated Venus surface conditions for 60 days with a range of signal conditioning, data processing, power management, and communication circuits in development. Related to this actuator system in HOTTech II, we will leverage on-going development of a simple SiC based microprocessor and Bipolar Junction Transistors for power applications to provide a control capability for the Venus actuator system. The combination of actuation and SiC electronics will be used to demonstrate the capability to perform rastering of a photodiode array structure in the pattern of the Viking Mars lander cameras in simulated Venus surface conditions for 60 days. This proposal is responsive multiple aspects of the HOTTech II call including Actuators/Motors, Imaging Cameras, Low-Power Electrical Circuits, and to a lesser degree Power Transistors. This proposal combines leaders in Venus relevant technologies to produce a new enabling capability: long term Venus durable actuation with electronic control suitable for smaller lander platforms such as LLISSE. This technology will be targeted towards imaging applications during the HOTTech II project, but is applicable to a range of other applications and functionalities in need of basic actuation. Thus, this proposal has broad science impact across a range of mission scenarios for long lived Venus surface applications.

Developing Instrument or spacecraft technology to improve measurements for future planetary science missions

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