Implicit lunar dust mitigation technology: compliant mechanisms

The finest fraction of the lunar regolith, namely the lunar dust, poses a challenge for hardware design and lunar operations. The Apollo missions experienced equipment malfunctions and failures due to dust interactions with hardware. In this work we focus on the problems related to the clogging of rigid body mechanisms. We explain the causes of the problem and propose a solution consisting of replacing traditional mechanisms with compliant mechanisms. There are multiple methods for synthesizing compliant mechanisms, but two approaches are most commonly used: analytical design and topology optimization. In this paper using a compliant gripper as an example, the suitability of these methods to design compliant mechanisms used in extra-vehicular activities is investigated. In doing so, the feasibility of using complaint mechanisms in the lunar equipment as part of dust mitigation strategies for surface projects is also demonstrated