Development and design of a level-adjustable seismometer carrier for the alignment of the scientific payload in the Remote-unit of the ROBEX-system

Abstract

The following master’s thesis " Development and design of a level-adjustable seismometer carrier for the alignment of the scientific payload in the Remote-unit of the ROBEX-system" written by Steffen Geisler documents the development process of the seismometer-carrierunit, the SECA, for the space-demonstration-mission of the ROBEX-system. As part of the Remote-unit within ROBEX-system the SECA serves as the basis for future technology development processes of scientific carrier units for autarkic and partly autonomous sub-units which can be used during exploration missions. The seismic sensors which will be installed in the SECA require an exact alignment to the gravity vector to produce scientifically valuable data. Since the alignment of the Remote-unit can not be guaranteed to be within the limits of this required alignment, the SECA needs to be able to align the seismic sensors independently from the Remote-unit, establish ground contact and reduce the influence of surrounding elements on the measurement. Through an iterative design-process in combination with extensive conceptual research concerning environmental influences on the seismic measurement, this thesis has developed a system, which is able to acquirer scientifically valuable data for the demonstration mission of the ROBEX-system. The system consists of an alignment mechanism, which is able to align the seismometer in parallel with the gravity vector, three legs, which establish the necessary ground contact of the seismic sensors, and a lock-mechanism, which fixates the system during transport. The complete system has mass of 3550,00g. In addition to the final design, which will be used in the demonstration mission of the ROBEX-system, this thesis has identified multiple issues which need to addressed if a similar system is to be used for a flight-mission.