Site Tamper and Material Plow Tool — STAMP
- Wednesday, 01 February 2012
Tool simplifies measurement of surface samples.
A non-actuated tool has been developed for preparing regolith for in situ measurement by smoothing uneven surfaces and excavating fresher subsurface material for planetary exploration. The STAMP tool contains two tools to prepare regolith for in situ measurement: a tamper to smooth uneven surfaces, and a blade to excavate fresher subsurface material.
STAMP Tool contains a tamper to smooth uneven surfaces, and a blade to excavate fresher subsurface material." class="caption" align="right">The STAMP design leverages flightproven
design features and flight-qualified
components from Mars Exploration
Rover (MER) and Phoenix missions to
provide a reliable, non-actuated tool.
The STAMP tool can be mounted at the
end-effector of a robotic arm that supports
deployment of contact instruments.
Using the rotation of the endeffector,
either the tamper or blade can
be deployed to prepare regolith for in