Floatinator: A Low Gravity Simulator to Study Plume-Surface Interactions

Astrobotic proposes the continued development of Floatinator, a one-of-its-kind, tunable lunar and planetary gravity simulator for terrestrial testing of plume-surface interactions (PSI) and cratering. Floatinator will consist of a hot-fire test chamber capable of dropping at a controlled acceleration to simulate a low gravity environment within the test chambers reference frame. For example, accelerating the test stand at ⅚g (8.19 m/s) would provide a ⅙g (1.62 m/s) lunar gravity reference frame inside the chamber.By providing a relevant gravity environment, Floatinator will control for a major variableEarth gravitywhich limits the applicability of all ground-based PSI and cratering testing to date. This novel test platform will enable collection of valuable data on the effects of lander dust plumes on lander systems, onboard payloads, landing sites, and nearby surface infrastructure. Floatinator will be made commercially available for testing services to the aerospace community, including companies actively developing the landers, surface infrastructure, and services for upcoming CLPS, Artemis, and commercial missions. Floatinator will allow for a range of controlled accelerations, enabling it to simulate the surface gravity of the Moon, Mars, asteroids, and other celestial bodies. Fine tuning the desired acceleration will also result in data that can help validate models that are being developed to predict PSI effects in reduced gravity environments. Astrobotic proposes “Floatinator,” a novel tunable gravity simulator for terrestrial testing of plume-surface interactions (PSI) and cratering on the Moon, Mars, asteroids, icy moons, and other small solar system bodies. Floatinator is a hot-fire test chamber capable of dropping at a controlled acceleration to simulate a low gravity environment within the test chamber’s reference frame. It provides more precise gravity control, can accommodate larger thrusters, and operates at a lower cost than parabolic aircraft flights or existing drop towers. Floatinator will enable the collection of valuable data on the effects of lander dust plumes on lander systems, payloads, landing sites, and surface infrastructure. This data will also be used to calibrate and validate physics-based models of PSI effects in reduced gravity environments. Floatinator will be made commercially available for testing services to the aerospace community, including to companies actively developing landers, surface infrastructure, and services for CLPS, Artemis, and commercial missions. In Phase I, Astrobotic successfully designed, fabricated, and tested a smaller-scale Floatinator prototype. This demonstrated the engineering feasibility of Floatinator and its ability to produce relevant PSI data in a simulated reduced gravity environment. In Phase II, Astrobotic will design, fabricate, and test a full-height Floatinator stand and collect the first the first science-quality data to advance PSI models.   Objective 1: Requirements Development Objective 2: Gravity Adjustment/Braking Mechanism Trade Study Objective 3: Full-Scale Floatinator Test Stand Design Objective 4: Full-Scale Floatinator Test Stand Assembly and Calibration Objective 5: Performance Testing and Analysis Objective 6: Project Management and Reporting   Proposed Deliverables: Kickoff meeting, Interim Demonstration Report (x7), Final Report

NASA has an ongoing need for increased fidelity PSI data, both for landing on the Moon and for future missions to Mars, asteroids, and outer icy moons. Floatinator will enable NASA to conduct terrestrial hot-fire testing at a variety of simulated gravity conditions to validate or challenge existing PSI models and generate new models for estimating ejecta and cratering effects of landings on various parts of the Moon. This data will benefit programs ranging from CLPS to HLS, each of which is supporting a variety of new lander designs. Floatinator offers university researchers a unique, price-effective platform for testing simulated regolith physics in different gravity environments. Floatinator will also benefit private companies developing their own PSI models and/or developing lander propulsion systems, as they seek to mitigate the ejecta created by their thrusters.​

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