A non-actuated tool has been developed for preparing regolith for in situ measurement by smoothing uneven surfaces and excavating fresher subsurface material for planetary exploration. The STAMP tool contains two tools to prepare regolith for in situ measurement: a tamper to smooth uneven surfaces, and a blade to excavate fresher subsurface material.

The STAMP Tool contains a tamper to smooth uneven surfaces, and a blade to excavate fresher subsurface material.
The STAMP design leverages flightproven design features and flight-qualified components from Mars Exploration Rover (MER) and Phoenix missions to provide a reliable, non-actuated tool. The STAMP tool can be mounted at the end-effector of a robotic arm that supports deployment of contact instruments. Using the rotation of the endeffector, either the tamper or blade can be deployed to prepare regolith for in situ measurement.

This work was done by Norman M. Aisen, Curtis L. Collins, and Ashitey Trebi-Ollennu of Caltech for NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. For more information, contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. NPO-47742

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    This article first appeared in the February, 2012 issue of NASA Tech Briefs Magazine (Vol. 36 No. 2).

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