1."A Spider TOM" (Telescope On Moon) - Space Apps Challenge

1."A Spider TOM" (Telescope On Moon)| Hey! What Are You Looking At?

Hey! What Are You Looking At?

The High Energy Astrophysics Science Archive Research Center (HEASARC) archives space agencies' data from missions studying electromagnetic radiation from extremely energetic cosmic phenomena (e.g., gravitational wave detections, gamma ray bursts, and supernovae). The Canadian Astronomy Data Center (CADC) is another repository containing missions studying comets, asteroids, and exoplanets among other things. Your challenge is to create a visualization tool that can help people interested in these phenomena to access the data quickly and easily.

"A SPIDER-TOM" (Telescope On Moon)

Summary

Our project to building a telescope on moon. This project Spider-TOM is purely based on using the regolith available on moon soil to develop our reflectors mirror for telescope. Our project would help us to open a big eye on moon to look into outer space even more accurately. Instead of sending a space telescope's we can build one on moon to reduce rocket payload. TOM is designed for based on moon condition. The reflectors mechanism are designed to be folded whenever it needed to avoid the damage and even while transporting. Spider legs acts as a stabilizer which means the movement of the legs will not affect the positioning of the reflectors.

How We Addressed This Challenge

"A Spider-TOM" is about building a spider structured huge telescope on moon with help of regolith (Moon's soil). TOM is a long term solution for Observing the Space. We can capture much more detailed information about cosmic phenomena like gravitational wave, gamma ray bursts, and supernovae from outer space.

Moon is Tidally lock, stable platform, no atmosphere to restriction the light coming from space.
Compare to space telescope TOM constriction cost and maintenance is less.
We are trying to create reflector mirrors using the Regolith (Moon's soil) so that it would be easy for us to develop the telescope on the moon itself.
As the surface area of the reflectors is big, it's very helpful for capturing more accurate images from interstellar space.
Compare to the rovers we are using the spider legs to avoid the dust creation. The spider legs do not only act as a transporting medium but it will also act as a holder and stabilizer for the telescope when it is rested at a position.
Socially use: TOM will open our eyes to the Universe. It's also helped us to find our neighborhoods and it will change our vision about interstellar space.
Politically use: Huge impact on science and History, Also Increase our nation's value in space exploration. With this structure we also can mine Helium-3 for alternative power.
Economically use: Value for investing money, because TOM is a long term solution for space problems. Also we can use this production machine for other future projects like building laboratory on moon.

How We Developed This Project

Our vision make us highly intelligent species on earth. Human eyes is the light of our whole body, similarly telescopes are eyes of our whole world.

Evolution of Science is based on collection of information even in space observation. we already have more than thousand’s of ground based observatories on earth and four in space. Earth’s atmosphere acts like a shield to absorb and reflect much infrared and ultraviolet light. Also We can’t get a clear image because of Light Noise. Space Telescopes are more expensive to build and more difficult to launch and maintain.

Our project "Spider TOM" is to building a telescope on moon this idea is not a new thing, from 18th century German scientist Von Madler and Beer created accurate map of moon then the idea became reality on Apollo program. Apollo 11 had a small telescope within the lander it took 174 frame of video clips. Then we launch 6 telescope on space like Hubble Telescope. After that in 2013 China launch Chang'e 3 lander on moon it had a 7 cm diameter of telescope called lunar ultraviolet telescope LUT. Now we are waiting for another telescope that's James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) which is scheduled to launch on 2021 but it also space telescope. Scientists and the organizations are going to launch another four future space telescopes habEx, Lynx, OST, LUVOIR but they all are space telescope only. Space Telescopes are more expensive to build and more difficult to launch and maintain. In our project we are going to build telescope on moon. Compare to space telescope TOM constriction cost and maintenance is less.

Moon is a stable platform. It's our brother too. As its near to earth thought that it would be easy to construction and maintain on the moon. Space telescope is counting this age this will decay someday. Instead of investing money on space telescope it is better to build telescope on moon. So we plan to construct a huge telescope on moon. TOM is design based on moon conditions. Hexagonal structure for effective load distribution. This is our own design.

"Spider-TOM" is telescope that helps us to capture much more images as compared to earth observatories. TOM is a cost efficient compared to Space Telescope. When it came to construction the reflectors for the telescope our first idea was to use epoxy based raisins to make our reflectors. But the main drawback of epoxy was that it would lose its properties when exposed to the UV rays. The main question was how could be do it with cost efficient and even more durable. Then we thought of using the lunar soil (Regolith) to prepare the reflectors. Then we started to search about the regolith and research made on it. Then we found so many researches made on regolith to use it for the construction of the bricks for the structures that were planned to be made on the moon. Then we found out that there was a research team which was working on using the regolith to make reflectors for the production of energy source on moon. TOM have 4 set of Reflecting mechanisms. Primary reflectors is divided in to two pairs for purpose of folding. Then we found out the different types of regolith. We selected one sample which was suitable for out reflectors. Then for preparing the reflectors the same process used for the James Webb telescope reflector.

Our TOM structure is a spider shaped structure so we can avoid the dust instead of using rover. The 6 walls solar panels for getting enough solar power from the sunlight and also we plan to get a power source from the regolith (Moon's soil) which contaminates helium 3. At Dark Side of the Moon it would be month of lunar night so we can totally avoid sunlight and earth's radiations. We are planning to build this telescope with robotic technology. Then it was the time for designing the TOM. Firstly we thought of designing the telescope so that it can only be fixed at only one place. But then as it is outstanding that creatures can go over a rough terrain at speeds which are remarkably higher than practically possible with wheeled vehicles. Indeed, even an individual, by getting down on each of the four legs if necessary, can travel or climb over terrain which is inaccessible for a wheeled or followed vehicle. It is therefore of immense enthusiasm to realize what machines for land locomotion can do if they are intended to imitate nature. Legged robots can be utilized for space missions on extraterrestrial planets and in risky places, for example, within an atomic rector, giving autonomous legged robots a great potential.

Low power consumption and weight are further advantages of walking robots, so it is important to use the minimum number of actuators. So we decided to use Sider legs for the transport of our telescope. These legs will even act as the stand for the telescope when it's fixed at a place. These legs will also act as stabilized when telescope is in movement. The main challenge was to find the advanced technology for TOM. So we decided to look into the space telescopes developed by all space research centers and then we came across the NASA's project of James Webb instruments it has so advanced instruments that it gave a base to TOM and we decided to use those instruments on out telescope. TOM have much interrail space for placing instruments, data processing, communication systems and power control system When it came to the power source we used solar panels for primary power supply and we even thought of using additional power system of nuclear power from hel-3. In future Helium 3 will using for primary power source.

How We Used Space Agency Data in This Project

We have used the data about the James Webb telescope for our project in reference to make the primary reflector.
Also, some research from EAS website for the information on the Regolith. We have also used the research information from J Mater Science for the more knowledge of Regolith.
Matt Denton, from Hampshire (UK) has now built the largest ride able hexapod spider leg robot, which measures 2.8 m x 5 m (9 ft. 2 in x 16 ft. 4 in).