A new mechanism for soft landing in robotic space exploration

Abstract

Landing safely is the key to successful exploration of the solar system; the mitigation of the connected effects of collision in mechanical systems relies on the conversion of kinetic energy into heat or potential energy. An effective landing-system design should minimize the acceleration acting on the payload. In this paper, we focus on the application of a special class of nonlinear preloaded mechanisms, which take advantage of a variable radius drum (VRD) to produce a constant reactive force during deceleration. Static and dynamic models of the mechanism are presented. Numerical results show that the system allows for very efficient kinetic energy accumulation during impact, approaching the theoretical limit.