Bulk Metallic Glass Gears - Implementation (BMGG-I)

With NASA’s bulk metallic glass (BMG) alloys we can increase operational capability and accomplish more science in extreme cold environments like permanently shadowed craters on the Moon, the Lunar night, and icy bodies such as Europa and Enceledus. Temperatures in these environments are regularly more than twice as cold as those ever recorded on earth. Spacecraft mechanisms such as gearboxes and actuators require the use of heaters to function in these environements as their wet lubricants freeze thereby inhibiting the function of the mechanism. Using bulk metallic glass (BMG) alloys, gearboxes and actuators can operate without wet lubricants and thus without the power consuming heaters that would traditionally be used. This allows that power to be allocated for additional instruments, additional mission operations, and/or extending the life of the mission.

The BMG Gears (BMGG) project, specifically, is developing actuator systems based on planetary and strain wave gearing that is capable of of operation at or below 100 Kelvin without the use of heaters. BMGG is addressing future infusion opportunities and technology transfer for BMG Gears technology through publication of a best practices documentation package and standards for the design, fabrication, assembly, and testing of bulk metallic glass (BMG) alloys for planetary gearmotors and strain wave gear flexsplines. The product capability offers a viable gearing technology that will significantly reduce system resource requirements for increased mission capability. This is enabling for low temperature, power constrained missions such as to the Moon with operations through the Lunar night and in permanently shadowed craters.

Dry film lubricated, bulk metallic glass (BMG) planetary gearboxes and strain wave gears with BMG flexsplines can operate without wet lubricants that currently require heaters for operation below approximately 210 Kelvin. Future NASA missions to the Moon where operation in Lunar night, permanently shadowed crators, and in the polar regions are expected to be power constrained will benefit from the elimination of power requirements to heat actuators for operation. Similar benefits are expected for surface operations to the outer planets such as on Ocean Worlds like Europa and Enceledus. The current need to heat actuators in cold environments derives from the freezing of wet lubricants inhibiting the function of the actuator. The reduced power requirement with the use of unheated actuators will increase operational capability, increase science return, and extend mission lifetime by increasing reliability for exploration, decreasing the system complexity, mass and operational constraints, and enabling cryo-sampling temperature sensitive (e.g. volatile containing) material.

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