From Moscow to the moon

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Leonardo Times DECEMBER 2013

Internship report

H

aving an interest in Russia for a long time, I wanted to work in the Russian space industry. Since the cooperation be-tween Roscosmos and ESA is increasing, I hoped that it might even be possible. To learn what was possible, I mailed Pro-fessor Malenkov who chaired the space robotics chair at the St. Petersburg poly-technic university. He answered that it would not be possible at his own univer-sity but that he would ask around among his colleagues in Moscow for me. A num-ber of weeks later I got the great news that I could work at the Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sci-ences. After e-mail contact and a dinner in Noordwijk, Netherlands (ESA ESTEC loca-tion), I found myself at the Russian con-sulate with my visa in hand. My Russian adventure had begun.

IKI

The Space Research Institute of the Rus-sian Academy of Science (Институт космических исследований Российской Академии Наук) is the leading organiza-tion on space exploraorganiza-tion within Russia.

They are responsible for the design and construction of most scientific instru-ments on Russian spacecraft. Further-more they have a leading role in formulat-ing the the science goals of the Russian Space Program. Currently they employ around three hundred scientists and engi-neers. Apart from the Russian space pro-gram, they are also responsible for a large number of instruments on the joint ESA/ Roscosmos Exomars program.

LUNA PROGRAM

In recent years, Russia formulated the am-bition of lunar exploration. As a first step in this endeavor a number of robotic ex-ploration missions are to be conducted. One of these missions is Luna Resurs (Luna 27), which, amongst others has the objective to identify the water content in the lunar regolith. The mission will consist of a lunar lander vehicle and a micro rover that is deployed from the lander. The mis-sion is set for launch in 2019.

MY WORK

I was placed in the department of Dr. Oleg

Kozlov, specialized in manipulators and robotic arms for spacecraft. My main task was to design the breadboard model of a lunar rover to be part of the Luna Resurs (Luna 27) mission.

The breadboard model is used to develop and debug the navigation and control software for the micro rover. The bread-board model has all of the mechanical features of the flight model. The main dif-ferences are in the weight optimization and the thermal isolation.

The rover features four metallic elastic wheels, separate drives for each wheel, a robotic arm with a shovel and a drill and a pair of cameras for stereovision based navigation. The breadboard model is used to test all these features both singled out as well as in combination with each other. The majority of my work consisted of the mechanical design of this rover. The initial weight and volume requirements were to be translated into a complete Solid Works assembly and a set of production draw-ings of each part. On top of that, limita-tions in terms of tolerances, precision and

An internship at the Space Research Institute in Moscow

Due to the strict implementation of the

harde knip (BSc. Before MSc. Rule) I found

myself with no courses or project work in the spring quarter. I decided to put this time

to good use and pursue an internship abroad. This endeavor eventually brought me

to the Red Square to contribute to the Russian space program.

TEXT Jeroen Wink, Student BSc. Aerospace Engineering and Editor, Leonardo Times

DECEMBER 2013 Leonardo Times

29

achievable radii of the available lathes and mills needed to be taken into account. An additional challenge in this process was the significant language barrier that com-plicated a lot of normally trivial tasks. For example, the interface of my workstation, including SolidWorks, was completely in Russian. Despite these challenges, I suc-ceeded to deliver a production ready as-sembly before the end of my internship. Next to the mechanical design, I was as-signed to make some first order thermal calculations for the robotic arm mounted on the Luna Resurs lander. This arm will feature a relatively large drill to take sam-ples from a couple of centimeters beneath the surface. The preliminary thermal cal-culations were used to define initial re-quirements on the conductance, absorp-tion and emissivity of the structural parts. Initial results suggested that a gold coat-ing on the structural members is neces-sary to prevent overheating of the drives during (Lunar) daytime operations. Fur-thermore, it was deemed necessary that the arm would be connected to the heat-ing system of the main lander to prevent excessive cooling during the lunar night.

OUTSIDE WORK

Apart from working, there was of course enough time during the nights and in the weekends for some relaxation. Moscow is one of the most beautiful and exciting cities in the world. With its marvelous

architecture and bustling nightlife, it pro-vides the visiting student with more that enough to do. And the super efficient metro system (the stations of which are a architectural highlight by itself) makes ev-ery corner of this huge metropolis quickly accessible. Personally, I enjoyed many af-ternoons at Gorki Park. Sitting next an en-gineering model of the Buran while drink-ing a beer and watchdrink-ing the sun set over the Kremlin is quite a unique experience. For aerospace enthusiasts in particular, Moscow features two of the most amaz-ing museums in the world. The Cosmo-nautics museum is a shrine to all Space lovers with its titanium monument to spaceflight on top and its beautiful ex-positions underground. Furthermore the Monino Air force museum features almost every single aircraft ever used by the Soviet military, including the worlds’ largest helicopter, the first super sonic passenger jet and a number experimental lifting body aircraft) and is unique by its sheer size and exposition. Even Caspian sea monsters (ekranoplan) are close by as a small version is on display in the suburb of Khimki.

Since there were three holidays during my stay (Labor day, Victory day and Rus-sia day) I had the opportunity to explore a bit of the rest of Russia. Russia is most conveniently traversed by train. Trains are leaving Moscow in all directions and are mostly conveniently scheduled to drive

overnight. Furthermore, Platzkart tickets (3rd _{class sleeping wagon with 54 beds}

per wagon) are quite cheap and offer a unique opportunity to meet the real Rus-sians. Most travellers are very interested in foreigners and despite the language barrier are often in for a talk and a toast. The main downside would be the beds, as they are not really designed for a two me-ters tall Dutch person. Despite the minor induced back pains, I greatly enjoyed my trips to Tartarstan, Karelia and St. Peters-burg during the holiday weekends.

CONCLUSIONS

My twelve weeks in Moscow turned out to be an extremely rewarding experience. Being able to contribute to an actual space mission on its own is already a great feeling. But the fact that it was in Russia made it extra special to me. Despite what the current media incidents might sug-gest, the Russians are really gently people and in general very helpful to foreigners. As a conclusion, I would encourage ev-eryone to pursue the opportunities that you have as an Aerospace Engineering student to go abroad. If you take the chance to it turns out to be quite easy to go to some unexpected places. A year ago I would have never tough it would be pos-sible for a European student to work in the Russian space sector, but it turned out to be a smooth process and a great experi-ence.