NOVEMBER 2022 Ӏ TECHNOLOGY REPORT


j they actually call it a


Lightweight Surface Manipulation System, or LSMS. Current devices used for in-space operations are designed to work in orbit only - that is, in zero g - and so do not have the strength to operate on planetary surfaces. (‘Lifting’ in zero gravity is a term without much meaning anyway.) Traditional cranes are specialised to the task of raising off the ground rather than the manipulator-type positioning operations that would be useful on the moon or Mars. So the LSMS is a multi-functional machine that can perform as many different tasks as possible. The innovations incorporated


into it allow it to lower payloads to the ground over a significant


142 CRANES TODAY


portion of the workspace without the use of a drum-hoist mechanism. It functions like a hybrid of crane and robot manipulator, providing a rigid connection with the payload and very precise control of it. Minimal weight of course is essential, given the fuel-costs of transporting every kilogram of cargo into space. The LSMS uses a truss architecture with pure compression and tension members to achieve a lightweight design. Multiple spreaders arranged like spokes on a wheel allow the LSMS to maintain its high structural efficiency throughout its full range of motion. A real innovation is that rod portions of the tension members automatically lift off


…and how it will look on the moon (Credit: NASA)


and re-engage the spreaders as the joint articulates, which allows a large range of motion while maintaining mechanical advantage. It has three degrees of freedom,


provided by waist, shoulder and elbow joints; and three links, - kingpost, arm and forearm, each of them 3.75 metres long. From the ground it can unload from the deck of a lander around 6m high; the first-generation design can lift 150kg on earth, 500kg on Mars, and 1000 kg on the moon. Maximum reach when configured as a horizontal boom is 7.5m. It is self-deployable – it can set


itself up on the new surface using its own actuators – and it can mount itself on a mobile rover as well as on the ground. Special purpose


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