UTD proposes to develop a lightweight, tethered autonomous small diameter core drill capable of reaching 200 m in depth, and greater, and able to extract core samples for the determination of water and/or biological life forms. The significance of this research is the enabling of exploration for water on Mars and exploration of other planetary bodies (as well as comets and asteroids). The intent is to keep the design SIMPLE. It is the express intent of the design process for this program to focus on maintaining a minimum number of moving parts. The core barrel is specially designed to cut the core hole, transmit fines to a compartment in its topmost section, capture the core and serve as a bailing bucket for removal to the surface. A cam based anchor system is used to maintain reaction force down-hole, and a screw ram is used for creating weight on bit. Total system mass for a 200 m depth system is expected to be on the order of 40 kg, requiring 200-300 watt-hrs of power per meter advance in most rock formations. POTENTIAL COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS UTD Incorporated is a known corporate innovator in the world of drilling technology. Any sustained research conducted by UTD in the drilling arena ultimately serves to increase our commercial value in this arena. Products typically spin off or suggest alternative ways to solve old problems. Examples in our corporate history abound, specialized position location tools developed by UTD have found their way out of a specialized field and into several commercial markets as one example. While tethered drilling on earth offers only small benefits at this time, such as reduced footprint for deep core drilling that may need to be conducted in a congested urban environment, new requirements are constantly being generated and a healthy balance of basic and applied research ultimately provides benefit.
