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What new technologies or methods can be developed for more efficient in-situ planetary subsurface analyses? This is what a presented at the 56th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference hopes to address as a team of researchers investigated how a novel instrument called OptiDrill could fill existing technological voids regarding the sampling and collection of regolith (top dust layer) and subsurface samples on a myriad of planetary bodies throughout the solar system.

Here, Universe Today discusses this incredible research with Andrew Palmowski, who is a Senior Mechanical Engineer with Blur Origin regarding the motivation behind OptiDrill, significant takeaways from the study, next steps for making OptiDrill a reality, and the importance of conducting in-situ planetary subsurface analyses. Therefore, what was the motivation behind OptiDrill?

Palmowski tells Universe Today, "In order to decipher formation processes and characterize water content, which are vital for both planetary science across our solar system and future commercial activities on the moon and Mars, it is crucial to address the technology gap in the in-situ analysis of preserved regolith stratigraphy and undisturbed grains in planetary subsurfaces."

These commercial activities include mining water ice at the lunar south pole, which hosts permanently shadowed regions (PSRs), and could provide future astronauts with drinking water, fuel, bathing, and converting water to oxygen through electrolysis. The technologies that will be used for human missions to the moon could be further developed for human missions to Mars, which could also be used for mining subsurface water ice on those expeditions.

Palmowski continues, "OptiDrill employs a rotary-percussive drilling system designed for in-situ multispectral microscopic imaging. This involves integrating advanced optical instruments into a compact auger system, making it suitable for a range of planetary exploration missions, including those to the moon, Mars, asteroids, and icy worlds. This method brings the instruments directly to the sample, facilitating the collection of spatially-correlated data sets otherwise unattainable."

For the study, the researchers discussed how planetary regolith on the moon and Mars could provide key scientific insights into the formation and evolution of these intriguing worlds, including geology, volcanology, and environmental aspects. Additionally, the researchers discussed the technological limits that current subsurface sampling endure, specifically regarding preserving the various layers of the sample, as seen in core samples.

One example of core samples includes core tube samples obtained from the Apollo missions that collected regolith up to 40 centimeters (16 inches) deep, which provided key scientific insights into the geological history of the moon. However, some of these tubes had bits of regolith that fell out upon being retrieved from the surface by Apollo astronauts.

Present examples of core tube samples include NASA's Perseverance rover obtaining rock samples for a future sample return mission so scientists back on Earth can analyze Mars regolith in a laboratory setting. But what are the most significant takeaways from this study and what are the next steps to make OptiDrill a reality?

"As one might expect, integrating complex microscopic imaging capabilities directly within a rotary-percussive mechanical drilling system presents numerous challenges," Palmowski tells Universe Today. "Making the instrument robust enough for this highly dynamic environment has been a major focus during this phase of development, and we have made great progress so far.

"We can confidently say that not only is this integration feasible, but we can also develop it in a way that the risk profile will be suitable for space exploration missions of all types and scales."

Palmowski continues, "We are on track to complete TRL 4 [Technology Readiness Level 4] development and testing by late 2025, concluding our work under NASA PICASSO funding. Following this, we will explore additional NASA funding opportunities, such as DALI and MATISSE grants, which support advancement to TRL6. Additionally, we continue to investigate other opportunities to advance this technology, including potential applications in terrestrial environments."

While the Apollo astronauts continue to be the only humans to collect in-situ planetary surface samples with the core tube samples, they provided scientists back on Earth with new insights into the characteristics and composition of the lunar regolith, including the presence of glasses and fine particles. Outside of Apollo, in-situ planetary subsurface analysis has been conducted strictly by robotic explorers, most notably the myriad of landers and rovers that humanity has sent to the moon and Mars, with NASA's Curiosity and Perseverance rovers continuing to conduct incredible science on Mars.

However, the moon and Mars are not the only planetary subsurfaces where scientists can unveil insights into a planetary body's formation and evolution. Other worlds within our solar system include Jupiter's moons Europa and Ganymede and Saturn's moons Titan and Enceladus, all of which exhibit evidence for subsurface liquid oceans, and Titan has lakes and seas of liquid methane and ethane on its surface.

While flybys and orbiters have collected incredible data from a distance via remote sensing, data and samples collected by landers and rovers have proven invaluable for teaching scientists about the intriguing locations throughout the solar system where we could potentially find life as we know it. This includes the Huygens probe, which landed on Titan in January 2005 and lasted for only 90 minutes, but the data it collected about Titan's surface characteristics will help scientists develop more efficient spacecraft for future missions, including NASA's upcoming Dragonfly mission. Therefore, what is the importance of conducting in-situ planetary subsurface analyses and could OptiDrill be used to search for subsurface life, whether it's Mars or icy worlds?

"In-situ analysis is a powerful tool for life detection, resource prospecting, and ground truthing existing orbital spectroscopy data," Palmowski tells Universe Today. "It complements the coarse analysis provided by orbital datasets, which are meant to identify areas with promising scientific potential, and enables targeted, high-resolution analysis on the ground. In contrast, sample return missions are highly complex and costly, introducing a chain of custody that significantly increases the risk of compromising the scientific integrity of the samples."

Palmowski continues, "Absolutely. OptiDrill targets a wide range of reflectance spectra down to the micron scale, including key channels that can ground-truth orbital data, such as that from CRISM on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO). Additionally, the technology can be adapted for icy world exploration by integrating into architectures like the Cryobot or Honeybee's own SLUSH technology."

Along with OptiDrill, Palmowski noted several instruments that Blue Origin's Honeybee Robotics have successfully deployed or are in development, including the Lunar PlanetVac and LISTER payloads on the Firefly Blue Ghost Mission 1, along with SMART and REBELS, which are in development.