The Challenges of Extraterrestrial Drilling Revealed in New Study by Researchers at University of Krakow

Excavating other worlds is not an easy task, and researchers at the University of Krakow decided to investigate why. In a new study, Dariusz Knez and Mitra Kahlilidermani concluded that, fundamentally, environmental and technological challenges are behind the problem in extraterrestrial drilling.

First, you have to be aware of it the role of the atmosphere – and lack of it – when you drill on a planet. Venus, a planet covered in a thick atmosphere made mostly of carbon dioxide, is an exception; on the other hand, Mars is surrounded by such a thin atmosphere that fluid physics doesn’t work there.

The fluids are essential for drilling on our planet because they cool the metals enough so that they can be drilled. Without reducing the temperature, the perforation may not occur, or the metal would be heated and deformed to prevent the procedure.

To avoid these situations, a lubricating fluid is injected into the desired area for the action of the drill. The mechanism is simple, but it wouldn’t work in a world without an atmosphere: any liquid exposed to an environment without atmospheric gases would sink (become gaseous), without cooling the area as expected.

Like most drilling outside the Earth done independently, this means that the lander or rover would have to have some means of knowing when to stop drilling before it melts its tools. Many space mission projects still do not have a solution to this problem.

Another problem is the temperature change on other worlds – in Quote, the temperature at the equator exceeds 120 ºC during the day, but drops to -133 ºC at night. This temperature range makes it difficult to use fluids in an irrigation system without freezing during the night or evaporating during the day.

In terms of technological aspects, weight limitation is a crucial part of any space mission. Large drilling rigs contain steel materials, which are so heavy that the cost of launching them would be very high, making the mission impossible. Another problem is energy supply: on Earth, drilling engines are powered by hydrocarbon fuel, but outside our planet, it would be necessary to use solar energywith cells of unfavorable size.

However, it is worth remembering that regardless of the difficulties, systems of this type are essential for the success of any space mission. If it is necessary to create large settlements for astronauts in lava tubes on the Moon, or to study the ocean under the ice of the moon Enceladus, more efficient drilling technologies will certainly be needed.

The article with the results of the study was published by Institute for Multidisciplinary Digital Publications.

Source: MDPI; Through: Universe today