In the effort to explore the subsurface of terrestrial bodies, we seek to obtain better samples from ever greater depths. Many organisations are working towards technologies that can achieve this goal whilst ensuring compatibility with the likely requirements of planetary landers in terms of mass, power, and dimensions.
The Ultrasonic Planetary Core Drill (UPCD) was an FP7 funded project which aimed to develop such a planetary sub-surface sample acquisition system, developing the required drill hardware and testing it in a Mars analogue environment in Antarctica.
The objective was to reach 30cm and containerise the samples using the least possible power, while operating at low weight-on-bit. This has been broadly achieved within a conceptually-deployable package
