Sample Acquisition from Hypothesized Surfaces – Sample Acquisition Design Team

INSTITUTION

University of Arkansas (UArk)

CLASS

Platinum Class (2025 – 2026)

STUDENT TEAM

ACADEMIC GUIDANCE

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

We will design, develop, and build a prototype sample acquisition system that serves as a proof of concept for the return mission to the 16 Psyche asteroid. Through this we seek to find a solution, that is applicable to the asteroid’s surface conditions, to be able to collect and protect a sample from the asteroid using various engineering methods.

This work was created in partial fulfillment of the University of Arkansas Capstone Course “MEEG 48102.” The work is a result of the Psyche Student Collaborations component of NASA’s Psyche Mission (https://psyche.ssl.berkeley.edu). “Psyche: A Journey to a Metal World” [Contract number NNM16AA09C] is part of the NASA Discovery Program mission to solar system targets. Trade names and trademarks of ASU and NASA are used in this work for identification only. Their usage does not constitute an official endorsement, either expressed or implied, by Arizona State University or National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of ASU or NASA.