Header image: ESA project astronaut Sławosz Uznański and the M.A.C.K.I. project team in front of NoveSpace’s Airbus A310 AirZeroG plane. Image credit: ESA/M.A.C.K.I.
As part of his preparations for his upcoming space mission, ESA project astronaut Sławosz Uznański recently took to the skies as part of the most recent ESA parabolic flight campaign.
During his zero-g flight, he tested various pieces of space equipment, including M.A.C.K.I. (Microgravity Actuated Capturing Kinetic Instrument) – an “active entanglement gripper” that uses soft robotics technology. Although traditional robotic hands may struggle in low gravity, the M.A.C.K.I. gripper has flexible filaments that allow it to grasp objects of different shapes and sizes.
The M.A.C.K.I. project is a collaborative effort by eight students from the “PWr in Space” students association located at the Wrocław University of Science and Technology. The team is led by engineers from Wrocław University of Science and Technology.
The team designed an experimental setup to compare the performance of the gripper in normal gravity and microgravity and, during the parabolic flight, the gripper was tested during short periods of weightlessness that simulate the gravity conditions experienced in space.
The tests involved three different objects: an ideal object (with a predictable shape), a sphere (representing round debris), and a unique test object that mimicked a small plant and was equipped with pressure sensors.
The plant was used to simulate delicate, organic material and to test the gripper’s ability to grasp fragile objects without causing damage.
The team needed to assess how well the gripper could hold onto different objects using different grasping methods. They gathered data using special sensors and cameras, and the pressure sensors on the artificial plant likely provided crucial information on the force applied by the gripper during the tests.
This technology could help with space farming by providing a flexible and adaptable tool for handling objects in the low-gravity environment of space. Robots equipped with advanced grippers like M.A.C.K.I. could assist with delicate tasks in space agriculture, such as harvesting crops or tending to delicate plants.
Active entanglement grippers like M.A.C.K.I. could also help to capture and remove space debris, making space safer.
Uznański is preparing to launch to the International Space Station in spring 2025 as part of the Axiom-4 (AX-4) mission, alongside astronauts from India and Hungary.
References:
ESA, “Grasping for space debris solutions”, 12 November 2024. https://blogs.esa.int/exploration/grasping-for-space-debris-solutions/
ESA, “Meet the Team: M.A.C.K.I.”, 21 October 2024. https://www.esa.int/Education/ESA_Academy_Experiments_programme/Meet_the_Team_M.A.C.K.I
ESA, “Sławosz Uznański from Poland will fly to International Space Station on fourth Axiom Space mission”, 5August 2024. https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Human_and_Robotic_Exploration/Slawosz_Uznanski_from_Poland_will_fly_to_International_Space_Station_on_fourth_Axiom_Space_mission
Unless otherwise stated, © Copyright Emma Doughty 2024. Published on theunconventionalgardener.com.
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