The Mars Technology Program (NASA/JPL) announces its intent to sponsor a field test/demonstration for robotic drills designed for use at Mars (and/or the Moon). This field test will be part of a periodic series of Earth field tests at Mars analog sites that are collectively intended to support the progressive development of subsurface access systems, and to establish the necessary confidence by mission planners in such systems.

Tentative Test logistics

• Location: Idaho Falls, Idaho

• Timing: between December, 2005 and February, 2006

• Local Host: Idaho National Lab (INL)

• Specific site: INL is considering making available the ground adjacent to one of their engineering buildings in Idaho Falls. The building has garage-style doors and the space in front and behind is paved with asphalt. Our intent is that the drilling teams will drill either from the edge of the asphalt, or in the field adjacent to the asphalt.

• Geology: The geology at this site consists of layered basalt flows with variable amounts of vesiculation (Snake River Basalt) that are overlain by about 0.5 m of unconsolidated loess. There is a groundwater monitoring well adjacent to the site, and the water table is at ~40 m--it is expected that the drilling conditions will be dry to a depth of at least 20 m. Note that this kind of geology is a credible analog for both Mars and the Moon.

• Infrastructure: Inside the building: Electricity (110V and 220V), restrooms, telephone, heat (note the winter timing), Outside the building: temporary shelter for drilling, parking, site security. Drilling teams may maintain some privacy from competitors by using a tent at their drilling site, but assume that the teams will need to share the indoor facilities.

• Duration: Our intent is that INL will make their facility available for this test for a period no longer than 10-14 days. To simplify local logistics for our host, all drilling teams will need to be active during the same period.

Our current intent is to release an announcement in August 2005 inviting participation in this test. Participants selected for this field activity will be expected to test highly-developed (TRL 4-5), deep (5 - 20 m) drills that are capable of acquiring core samples (about 1 cm diameter, 10 cm segments). The prototype system must operate in a highly autonomous fashion. The system must also be shown to be compatible with flight-like power & mass constraints. Selection of participants will be based on relevance of the drilling/sampling system to future missions and readiness for field testing. Readiness level must be supported with test results from lab and/or field tests.

Our plan is to make participation in this test/demonstration open to international colleagues.

We are tentatively planning two additional field tests over the next two years, although the timing has not been finalized and the specific sites have not been identified. The goals of this field test series are summarized here:

	Target material/ depth	Level of Autonomy1	Power2	Mass3
Field Test - Winter 2005/2006	Hard basalt/ 20 m	A1	80 W	40 kg
Field Test - Fall 2006	Icy permafrost & rock/ 20 m	A2	80 W	40 kg
Field Test - Spring 2007	Hard heterogeneous rocks & regolith/ 20 m	A2	80 W	40 kg

¹See autonomy definitions below.
²Flight-like power may be partially demonstrated and supported by analysis.
³Flight-like mass may be achieved by analysis.

So that both the Mars Technology Program and INL can further refine the planning, we request that non-binding expressions of interest be sent to Suparna Mukherjee, who will also answer questions regarding these field tests (Suparna.Mukherjee@jpl.nasa.gov, 818-393-3312). For reference, this document may be accessed on the web at http://mepag.jpl.nasa.gov/Mars_Community/index.html.

Deep Drill Autonomy Definitions: