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A Review of Sampling Exploration and Devices for Extraterrestrial Celestial Bodies

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Abstract

Sampling soil or rocks from extraterrestrial celestial bodies is the essential step to detecting the existence of water and life in celestial bodies, it is also an important channel to obtain scientific information about the evolution of the solar system and the origin of the universe. To date, a large number of sampling devices have been designed and developed for sampling exploration of extraterrestrial celestial bodies. However, the sampling devices are versatile, and the employed working principle and sampling methods vary in different exploration missions and celestial bodies’ environments. The present work focuses on the exploration history, celestial bodies’ environment, and sampling devices of extraterrestrial celestial bodies (mainly the Moon, Mars, and small celestial bodies), and provides a systematic review. First, the exploration history and future exploration plans of extraterrestrial celestial bodies are reviewed, which outlines the features of the exploration methods and sampling devices. In the overview of the exploration history, it is found that the failure of sampling exploration is mainly due to the unknown of the celestial bodies’ environment. Therefore, the surface environment and geology of extraterrestrial celestial bodies are further summarized, and whereby the influence of the environment on sampling device design and performance in the exploration process is analyzed. Then a focused analysis of the sampling devices that have been used in previous exploration missions and recent advances has been conducted, which provides a comprehensive description of their exploration goals, operating principles, and properties. This work summarizes the current sampling methods into nine types: excavating, drilling, grinding, grabbing, projecting, penetrating, wire-line coring, ultrasonic-assisted coring, and pneumatic, for which their advantages, disadvantages, and scope of application are analyzed. Finally, the limitations and challenges faced by extraterrestrial bodies’ sampling exploration are discussed, with prospects for future sampling exploration techniques, which can provide a reference for the subsequent in-depth development of extraterrestrial celestial bodies’ sampling devices.

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Acknowledgements

The research proposed in this review was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. U2013603, 51827901).

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Correspondence to Guoqing Zhang.

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No conflict of interest exists in this submitted manuscript, and the manuscript is approved by all authors for publication. I would like to declare on behalf of my co-authors that the work described was original that has not been published previously, and not under consideration for publication elsewhere, in whole or in part.

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Zhang, X., Zhang, G., Xie, H. et al. A Review of Sampling Exploration and Devices for Extraterrestrial Celestial Bodies. Space Sci Rev 218, 59 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11214-022-00926-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11214-022-00926-y

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