Projektbeschreibung
Neues Verfahren zur Erkundung fremder Gebiete
Das Verhalten von Planetenoberflächen ist für die Weltraumerforschung von entscheidender Bedeutung. Die Verfahren, mit denen die Bodenmechanik auf der Erde untersucht wird, sind nicht für Umgebungen mit geringer Schwerkraft geeignet, sodass die Vorbereitung und Durchführung von Weltraummissionen schwierig ist. Finanziert über den Europäischen Forschungsrat soll im Projekt GRAVITE ein einzigartiges Labor mit variabler Schwerkraft entstehen, in dem die Schwerkraft für einzelne Experimente auf ein Tausendstel der Schwerkraft der Erde abgeschwächt werden kann, um die Oberflächen kleiner Himmelskörper nachzubilden. In diesem Labor kann das Verhalten granularer Materialien bei geringer Schwerkraft umfassend analysiert werden. Die experimentellen Daten von GRAVITE werden von unschätzbarem Wert sein, um bestehende Modelle weiterzuentwickeln, Instrumente für den Einsatz im Weltraum zu gestalten und die präzise Interpretation von Daten aus Weltraummissionen sicherzustellen.
Ziel
As the number of space missions involving surface interactions increases, so does the need to understand the behaviour of planetary surfaces. The surface properties also are crucial for human exploration, and play a key role in the evolution of planetary bodies. In terrestrial geophysics and planetary exploration, two techniques are widely used for in-situ determination of soil mechanical properties: seismic sounding, and penetration testing. However, the GRAVITE PI hypothesizes that these techniques are not directly applicable for space exploration due to implicit assumptions that become invalid in low-gravity environments, and that this has resulted in erroneous interpretations of data from multiple space missions.
Whereas others use limited experimental data points, numerical simulations or untested extrapolations, GRAVITE will build a unique high-performance, low and variable gravity laboratory to extensively explore, for the first time, the complex interactions between particle size, friction and cohesion in the response of granular materials to both small and large deformations, under vacuum, and in reduced-gravity conditions.
The GRAVITE facility, capable of reaching gravity levels three orders of magnitude less than Earth’s gravity (in order to simulate small body surfaces), and of finely adjusting the gravity level of each individual experiment, will bridge an existing gap in facilities and provide exceptional experimental data covering a wide range of gravity conditions. The GRAVITE data from two custom experiments will be used to test the limits of existing theories, and validate new models accounting for previously unexplored regimes. As such, GRAVITE will provide the planetary science and exploration communities with much needed models that can be used to predict and interpret the behaviour of extra-terrestrial surface materials. The results will have direct applications to current and future space missions that interact with planetary surfaces.
Wissenschaftliches Gebiet
- natural sciencesphysical sciencesastronomyspace exploration
- engineering and technologyenvironmental engineeringgeotechnics
- natural sciencesphysical sciencesastronomyplanetary sciencesplanetary geology
- natural sciencesphysical sciencescondensed matter physicssoft matter physics
- natural sciencesearth and related environmental sciencesgeophysics
Schlüsselbegriffe
Programm/Programme
- HORIZON.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC) Main Programme
Thema/Themen
Finanzierungsplan
HORIZON-ERC - HORIZON ERC GrantsGastgebende Einrichtung
31055 Toulouse
Frankreich