Power System: Lunar Zebro Rover Deployment System

Abstract

This thesis details the design and development of the Power System for the Rover Deployment System. This power system delivers and manages the necessary power required by the entire Rover Deployment System. The RDS is responsible for ensuring the rover’s survival inside the transportation pod during transit. It also handles releasing the rover, which a mechanical mechanism will lower onto the lunar surface. The goal of Lunar Zebro is to send a nanosatellite to the moon for lunar surface exploration and radiation measurements. The power system was designed to power the MCU and transceivers at 3.3V, to provide power for rover charging at 12V, and to charge a capacitor bank used to provide the necessary actuation power to the NEAs. An electrically triggered umbilical release mechanism, unfortunately, could not be implemented due to a lack of available data. The circuit for this system was created, simulated, and added to the PCB design of the RDS. The simulations of the circuit behaved desirably. Due to the lead time on orders, the PCB has unfortunately not been received yet. Because of this, the entire power system has unfortunately not been tested yet.