Two-Dimensional Experimental Investigation of Base-Extension Separation Mechanism with Telescopic Gear

Spacecraft landing missions require a soft landing mechanism to prevent a large shock load and tipping over when landing on various types of terrain. The authors previously invented a novel landing mechanism called a telescopic-gear base-extension separation mechanism that operates by means of energy transfer and an adjustable structure. This mechanism passively adjusts the shape of the landing gear according to the landing terrain and transfers the energy of the lander to a spring as potential energy. The outstanding performance of this landing mechanism was demonstrated analytically in a previous study. However, its feasibility was not confirmed, and an effective parameter design method for various shapes of terrains was not presented. Therefore, in this study, two-dimensional experimental investigations are conducted using a small-scale prototype to assess the feasibility of the landing mechanism for several types of terrain. An effective parameter design approach based on a mathematical model derived ...