Aerospace and mining engineers at the University of Arizona are developing a plan to harvest resources from the moon using swarms of automated robots and new mining techniques. They have received $500,000 in funding from NASA for a new project to advance space mining methods using swarms of automated robots.
According to the giant impact hypothesis, Earth and the Moon originated from a common parent body, so scientists expect their chemical compositions to be relatively similar. Mining on the lunar surface could uncover rare earth metals needed for technologies such as smartphones and medical devices, titanium used in titanium alloys, precious metals like gold and platinum, and helium-3, a stable helium isotope that can provide fuel for nuclear power plants but is extremely rare on Earth.
On Earth, we have blasting to break rocks; on the Moon, you have to be more conservative. For example, to break rocks, we use large amounts of water, which is something we don't have on the Moon. Therefore, we need new processes and new technologies, and that's where swarms of autonomous robots come in.
Researchers are developing a neuromorphic learning architecture technology called Human and Explainable Autonomous Robot Systems, or HEART. This system will not only train robots to work together to complete tasks such as mining, excavation, and even construction, but will also enable robots to improve their collaborative skills over time.
The team plans to build and train the robots on Earth so they can practice. Ultimately, the researchers envision a fully autonomous swarm of robots that won't need instructions from Earth to mine materials and build simple structures. The team still believes humans are a crucial part of space exploration, but these swarms of robots would free up astronauts to focus on other critical tasks.
