MARS drill will seek knowledge & resources

Michael Braukus
Headquarters, Washington September 29, 2004
(Phone: 202/358-1979)

John Ira Petty
Johnson Space Center, Houston
(Phone: 281/483-5111)

RELEASE: 04-318

MARS DRILL WILL SEEK KNOWLEDGE & RESOURCES

It will be drilling for information first, then for
resources, though oil is not likely to be among exploration
targets.

The futuristic drilling rig, under development at NASA's
Johnson Space Center (JSC), Houston, is designed for use on
the moon or on Mars. It is being tested, in conditions in
some ways similar to Mars, through Oct. 3, at the Eureka
Weather Station.

The station is on Ellesmere Island in Canada's Artic Nunayut
province about 690 miles from the North Pole. Jeffrey A.
George is manager of the Mars Drill Project at JSC. The
Canadian tests are being done in cooperation with NASA's Ames
Research Center (ARC), Calif., and with faculty members from
two Canadian institutions, McGill University in Montreal and
the University of Toronto. Baker Hughes Inc. of Houston, a
company with a rich oil field history, is participating in
the project under a Space Act Agreement with NASA.

Setup exercises with the drill were held recently at JSC.
Because it is designed for use on other planetary bodies, the
drill has weight, size and power consumption limits, said
project engineer Brian Derkowski. Power consumption is about
100 watts, enough to illuminate a bright household light
bulb. Drill components are designed for minimum weight and
size.

Because of weight and volume constraints, it cannot, like
traditional drilling rigs, use drill pipe or drilling mud.
The apparatus consists of a power source, a control box and
the drill itself. The drill looks like a vertical pipe
mounted on a support in the bottom of half a suitcase. A
laptop computer is attached to the control box to record
data.

The base is anchored to the surface and an electrically
powered bit rotates beneath it. The pipe-like drill module
follows the bit down. The drill is periodically pulled to the
surface by its tether to remove the core and cuttings.

"This is the second generation of the drill," George said.
"Initially the drill will be used to secure core samples for
scientific study. Later versions eventually would drill for
resources, like, possibly, subsurface water on Mars. We
believe the third or fourth generation will be ready for the
moon or Mars. "It should ultimately be able to drill to
depths of several hundred meters," he said.

At Eureka, the drill is being used on sandstone and rock
outcrops, and to drill through ice. Canadian geologists will
study retrieved core samples to better understand the geology
and biology of the high Arctic. The JSC team is relatively
small with four members at Eureka. But, George said, it has
gotten considerable support from other organizations at JSC,
ARC and Baker Hughes. George believes the concept shows
considerable promise. "It is a unique technology," he said.

For still images of the drill setup exercises at JSC on the
Internet, visit:

http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/news/marsdrill.html

Video of the JSC set up exercises is running today on NASA TV
available in the continental U.S. on AMC-6, Transponder 9C,
C-Band, at 72 degrees west longitude. The frequency is 3880.0
MHz. Polarization is vertical, and audio is monaural at 6.80
MHz.

In Alaska and Hawaii, NASA TV is available on AMC-7,
Transponder 18C, C-Band, at 137 degrees west longitude.
Frequency is 4060.0 MHz. Polarization is vertical, and audio
is monaural at 6.80 MHz. NASA TV is available on the Internet
at:

http://www.nasa.gov/ntv

For information about NASA and agency programs on the
Internet, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov

-end-


--
---------------------------

Jacques :-)

www.spacepatches.info