The US designed a flying saucer to explore the Moon

MIT's flat circular robot takes advantage of the Moon's natural electric field to levitate, consuming very little energy when operating.

A team of scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has developed a new rover model with a unique circular shape and hovering thanks to the Moon's natural electric field, Interesting Engineering reported on December 21.

Design a flying saucer-like exploration robot hovering over the surface of the Moon.

The new robot takes advantage of the fact that airless bodies like the Moon and asteroids generate electric fields through direct contact with the Sun and surrounding plasma. Such robots could be used for reconnaissance missions to the surface of the Moon or nearby asteroids.

On a large object like the Moon, the surface charge is strong enough to power flying devices. In fact, surface charge has been shown to cause Moon dust to hover at an altitude of about a meter.

The MIT team's flying saucer-shaped robot uses microscopic beams of ions to charge and enhance the natural surface charge. Small ion thrusters, called liquid ion sources, are connected to a pool of ionic solutions in the form of molten salts at room temperature. When the charge reaches the ionic solution, the ions will be charged and sprayed under the robot in a beam through propulsion. The disc-like shape optimizes thrust between the robot and the ground, meaning it requires very little energy.

"This special design uses only a small amount of energy to generate large voltages. Because the energy required is very small, the robot can operate almost for free," said Paulo Lozano, study co-author.

The team's initial tests show that the ion boost is strong enough to lift a small robot, weighing about 0.9 kg, over the Moon and even large asteroids like 16 Psyche.

"We think of using robots as in the Japanese space agency's Hayabusa mission. The Hayabusa spacecraft works around a small asteroid and brings the robots down to its surface. Similarly, we think a Future spacecraft can bring small robots with the ability to hover down to explore the surface of the Moon and other asteroids," said Oliver Jia-Richards, lead author of the study and an expert in the Department of Aeronautics. Research and Astronautics at MIT, said.

Exploring asteroids and distant regions of the Moon can be of great benefit. For example, in 2020, NASA estimates asteroid 16 Psyche could contain about $10 billion billion of metals. NASA's Artemis missions, which aim to return humans to the Moon by 2025, will also need to mine material on the Moon's surface to sustain a long-term human presence.