TAGSAM: A gas-driven system for collecting samples from solar system bodies

We have developed a rapid, minimally-contacting, method of collecting sample material from regolith-bearing surfaces of solar system bodies using gas flow to entrain particles and direct them toward collection cavities. Because it can be implemented in a brief, pogo-style interaction with a surface, it is termed the Touch-And-Go Sample Acquisition Mechanism (TAGSAM). With only a few-seconds of interaction needed to acquire sample, the method has major favorable ramifications on spacecraft design, eliminating any need for landing, anchoring, or sustained surface operations. The technique employs pressurized gas which is directed at a regolith surface by the TAGSAM “head.” This unit is designed to provide geometrical constraints that direct the release of gas into the regolith, that shape the flow path of the entrained particles, that achieve the capture of particles with release of gas back to the environment, and that contains the sample within the unit. The entire head is passively positioned to conform to the tilt of a natural surface with a universal joint, and can then be placed and released into the interior of a sample return capsule.