Steam-powered asteroid hoppers developed through UCF collaboration

Using steam to propel a spacecraft from asteroid to asteroid is now possible, thanks to a collaboration between a private space company and the University of Central Florida.

UCF planetary research scientist Phil Metzger worked with Honeybee Robotics of Pasadena, California, which developed the World Is Not Enough spacecraft prototype that extracts water from asteroids or other planetary bodies to generate steam and propel itself to its next mining target.

UCF provided the simulated asteroid material and Metzger did the computer modeling and simulation necessary before Honeybee created the prototype and tried out the idea in its facility Dec. 31. The team also partnered with Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Florida, to develop initial prototypes of steam-based rocket thrusters

"It's awesome," Metzger said of the demonstration. "WINE successfully mined the soil, made rocket propellant, and launched itself on a jet of steam extracted from the simulant. We could potentially use this technology to hop on the Moon, Ceres, Europa, Titan, Pluto, the poles of Mercury, asteroids - anywhere there is water and sufficiently low gravity."

The spacecraft lifted off for about a meter inside a vacuum chamber at Honeybee's Pasadena facility. It is designed to fly on and around bodies that have less gravity on Earth, so it could hope several kilometers on a moon like Europa, or it could leave an asteroid and coast to the next target, Metzger added.

WINE, which is the size of a microwave oven, mines the water from the surface then makes it into steam to fly to a new location and repeat. Therefore, it is a rocket that never runs out of fuel and can theoretically explore "forever."

The process works in a variety of scenarios depending on the gravity of each object, Metzger said. The spacecraft uses deployable solar panels to get enough energy for mining and making steam, or it could use small to extend the potential reach of these planetary hoppers to Pluto and other locations far from the Sun.

Metzger spent three years developing technology necessary to turn the idea into reality. He developed new equations and a new method to do computer modeling of steam propulsion to come up with the novel approach and to verify that it would actually work beyond a computer screen.

The development of this type of spacecraft could have a profound impact on future exploration. Currently, interplanetary missions stop exploring once the spacecraft runs out of propellant.

"Each time we lose our tremendous investment in time and money that we spent building and sending the spacecraft to its target," Metzger said. "WINE was designed to never run out of propellant so exploration will be less expensive. It also allows us to explore in a shorter amount of time since we don't have to wait for years as a new spacecraft travels from Earth each time."

The project is a result of the NASA Small Business Technology Transfer program. The program is designed to encourage universities to partner with small businesses, injecting new scientific progress into marketable commercial products.

"The project has been a collaborative effort between NASA, academia, and industry; and it has been a tremendous success," said Kris Zacny, vice president of Honeybee Robotics. "The WINE-like spacecrafts have the potential to change how we explore the universe."

The team is now seeking partners to continue developing small spacecraft.

Related Links
University Of Central Florida
Asteroid and Comet Mission News, Science and Technology

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