Sudbury company develops extraterrestrial space drill.

PositionNEWS - Deltion

A Sudbury company has landed a contract with the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) to build a combination drill and rotary multipurpose tool that is essentially a space-age "Swiss Army Knife." The federal department of Innovation, Science and Economic Development has granted the Canadian Space Agency $700,000 to fund projects like Deltion Innovations' Percussive and Rotary Multi-Purpose Tool, or PROMPT. The tool will be able to drill into the moon or Mars at small depths --around 10 centimetres--to collect samples, and will also be able to complete the attachment and removal of screws and bolts in robotic construction, maintenance and repair tasks.

It costs around $250,000 to transport just one kilogram of material to the moon, and around $1 million to bring the same amount of material to Mars. A lightweight robotic tool like PROMPT means organizations like NASA can maximize space by building structures at surface, and transporting everything in pieces. In addition to its light weight and multiple uses, the tool will need to withstand extreme conditions. "Where they're looking to set up mining on the moon the ground temperature is -150 C," said Deltion Innovations CEO Dale Boucher. "Once you get into the sunlight, because there's no atmosphere, the temperature on the surface goes to 150 C." The device would also...

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