Leads: Sebastian Boal, Hannah Dunnigan
Designers: Jessica Young [me], Noah Bingham, Selena Yang, Bowen Zhou, Gun Bolukbasi, Felix Arwen, Yu Hong Low, Avantika Velho
October 2020 - April 2021
NASA intends to return to the moon through its Artemis Program. As part of extravehicular activities [EVAs] on the moon's surface, astronauts will be required to gather geological samples and store them in individual sample bags. Our primary objective was to develop a straightforward and dependable design that facilitates the effortless dispensing of sample bags during lunar spacewalks while astronauts conduct their sampling operations.
Design a sample bag dispenser for use during lunar surface sampling operations.
✦ Focus on the ease of use; consider limited hand dexterity in the spacesuit.
✦ Can hold multiple sample bags and dispense one at a time during sampling operations.
✦ Allow for solo sampling operations: the sample bag dispenser can be maneuvered with only one hand or mounted to the spacesuit or tool carrier.
Feedback from NASA
Current positives:
+ The comb will keep the un-deployed bags constrained and will prevent tangling.
+ The push tab provides a method of deploying a single bag while keeping the others contained.
+ Simple lightweight design, seemingly one-handed operation.
Next Goals:
✦ Control the speed the bag opens at and precisely where it opens to.
✦ Constrain the bag once it's opened.
✦ Create a way to easily reload the dispenser.
✦ Reconsidered overall shape of dispenser.
✦ Explored new methods with how the dispenser bag would be opened and secured in place.
✦ Examined how the bags would be stored in the dispenser when not in use.
✦ Implemented a mechanism to secure the bags that are not being pulled by hand.
✦ Created a 1 bag at a time system.
✦ Started to think about having the bags in a refill pack rather than being stored individually.
✦ Reexamined bag opening mechanism.
