Hypothesized Surface: ISRU for Hypothesized Surfaces – Claw and Filtration Funnel

INSTITUTION

Rochester Institute of Technology

CLASS

Tungsten Class (2023 – 2024)

STUDENT TEAM

Alex Nestor, Mechanical Engineering
Anthony Smith, Mechanical Engineering
Eliya Fischev, Computer Engineering

Madeleine Goulet, Biomedical Engineering
Max Wolbeck, Mechanical Engineering
William Z. Tom, Computer Engineering

ACADEMIC GUIDANCE

Dr. Alexander Loui

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

The Psyche asteroid is a metal-rich asteroid orbiting the Sun at 235-309 million miles. This asteroid is of interest due to its partially metallic composition, indicating that it may be the remnants of an early planetary core. Planetary cores have never been able to be studied before, so this would provide novel insight into planetary composition and accretion. NASA launched the Psyche spacecraft on October 13, 2023, to orbit Psyche in mid-2029. Our project will allow a potential future mission to collect samples from the surface of the asteroid and store them safely for future analysis.

This work was created in partial fulfillment of the Rochester Institute of Technology Capstone Course “CMPE 487”. The work is a result of the Psyche Student Collaborations component of NASA’s Psyche Mission (https://psyche.asu.edu). “Psyche: A Journey to a Metal World” [Contract number NNM16AA09C] is part of the NASA Discovery Program mission to solar system targets. Trade names and trademarks of ASU and NASA are used in this work for identification only. Their usage does not constitute an official endorsement, either expressed or implied, by Arizona State University or National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of ASU or NASA.