NASA Lunar TORCH

grabcad

A basic design of a mobile Heliostat. Needs more detailing and also rendering as well as animation (work in progress).P.S. first ever design by me, go easy.Update (09/18/2021) - Thanks for the likes guys, I've finished the main design, just uploaded a new deployed view of the model to show the idea I was going for, many thanks again !NASA Lunar TORCH Main DesignThe Lunar TORCH design has three main sub-systems – • The spherical body containing the generic rover assembly,• Side lids containing solar panels and gearbox for rotation and pitch of the lids,• Upper lid containing the flexible mirror, support frame and deployment system. Spherical Chassis: This structure is the main body where other parts are connected. This also connects battery to an external power source through a back port. Side Lids: These contains a 0.5 m2 solar panel on each side. The lids are connected to the gearbox system through bearing and can rotate around the gearbox hinge. The gearbox, on the other hand, can also rotate on a magnetic circular rack on the chassis and it hinges on a ring structure fixed on the chassis for a rotation of about 270 degrees. The sun sensors are located at the top of each lid. Top Lid: This unit houses the mirror and the deployment system. The flexible mirror is contained within a flexible plastic frame and can be rolled up. The mirror is deployed through a system of frame and roller & driven by a system of motors. To support the mirror, an angular support frame deploys from the inner surface of the lid and stretches of to around 2/3 the length of the mirror. Both the mirror and the support frame can be retracted.  Packaging:The whole system can be deployed and retracted within the sphere. The sphere is of 1.5 m in outside diameter. The wheels of the rover stretches of about 3 cm below the structure. The system has a camera and a beacon of circular searchlight around the camera at the front of the chassis.  RemarksThe flexible mirror reference paper is added to the submission. This is a basic design idea which needs more detailing. I wanted to add the full deployed TORCH along with rendering and animation of the system. But as I started the design late and have exams and assignments to contend with as a student, I could not completely finish my design goals. Thank You.