DaedalusCAM - An Innovative Exploration of Lunar Lava Tubes

DaedalusCAM - An innovative exploration of lunar lava tubes. C. Abbattista - L. Amoruso - C. A. De Donno - M. Mucci Beltrami – A. Varriale 1, C. Pernechele - E. Simioni - P. Martini 2, R. Pozzobon - M. Massironi 3, D. Scaccabarozzi 4, G. Costa3. 1PLANETEK, Via Massaua 12, 70132, Bari, Italy; 2INAF-OAPD, Vicolo Osservatorio 5, 35122 Padova, Italy; 3Univ. degli Studi di Padova, Dip. di Geoscienze, via G. Gradenigo 6, 35131, Padova, Italy; 4 Politecnico di Milano, Dipartimento di Ingegneria Meccanica, via G. La Masa 1, Milano, Italy. Abstract: The Moon’s surface presents significant challenges for future exploration due to extreme radiation, temperature fluctuations, and meteorite impacts. One potential solution for human exploration and habitation involves using lunar lava tubes (example in Figure 1), natural tunnels formed by volcanic activity, as shelters. These structures could protect from harsh environmental conditions and may even contain water ice, making them ideal for long-term exploration. Figure 1 - Mare Tranquillatis Pit Recent radar evidence [1] has confirmed the potential existence of lava tubes, heightening the need for thorough study. There is only indirect evidence of the presence of lunar lava tubes while their existence on Earth is known [2]. The presence of lava tubes would have a great impact not only for scientific and geological study but also for human exploration of the Moon. These reasons led to the idea of exploring the skylight and the lunar lava tubes using a carrier hosting two main payloads: a pair of LIDARs and a stereoscopic immersive camera (DaedalusCAM). With these two complementary payloads, it will be possible to completely map the entire skylight during the robot's descent and later the potential lava tube. Starting from this exploration vision, a team of industrial and scientific partners, composed of Planetek, INAF, POLIMI, and UNIPD, proposed through an ASI tender to explore and increase the capabilities of the DaedalusCAM immersive camera designed by INAF. The call successfully won and recently the Italian National Space Agency (ASI) funded the development of the software for displaying the immersive image of a lunar cave. DaedalusCAM is a stereoscopic immersive camera system with four hyper-hemispheric lenses that capture both panoramic and high-resolution images (output example in Figure 2). Due to the presence of four panoramic lenses (configuration in Figure 3), each point in the cave wall is seen by (at least) two cameras. This large number of images, although in a relatively low resolution, must be displayed to make them useful also for scientific exploration, other than simultaneous localization & mapping (SLAM) useful during the descent robotic operations. Figure 2 - A typical image of DaedalusCAM As the robot descends into the skylight, it will map the cave in detail, providing critical information for future lunar missions. Figure 3 - Camera Configuration For the purposes for which the DaedalusCAM project was created, there is a need to deal primarily with pits that imply the presence of an underlying void, most often related to the presence of lava tubes or cavities associated with impact melt outgassing. For this reason, Mt. Etna (Figure 4) was chosen for analysis on Earth, given its geological context of basic volcanic type, and for the lava flow morphologies present. Figure 4 - Mt. Etna main lava tubes To process and display the large volume of data collected, a software package is being developed. This system will handle the immersive and stereoscopic images captured by the DaedalusCAM, making them useful for scientific analysis and operational tasks. The software will play a key role in managing the exploration data, ensuring that the images are efficiently processed and used for both scientific exploration and robotic navigation. In particular, to display the final immersive output cave image in a userfriendly interface a tool is being developed, an example of 3D Reconstruction is shown in Figure 5 and an example of 3D Navigation in Figure 6. Figure 5 - Example of 3D Reconstruction The deployment and later integration on a spacequalified platform of the developed s/w macropackages will be supported through the use of a software framework developed by the Planetek team characterized by capabilities that make it ideal for execution on board exploration rovers. Figure 6 - Example of 3D Navigation References: [1] L. Carrer, R. Pozzobon, F. Sauro, D. Castelletti, G. W. Patterson, L. Bruzzone – Article 15 July 2024 - Nature Astronomy - Radar evidence of an accessible cave conduit on the Moon below the Mare Tranquillitatis pit. [2] Y. Feng et. al. 2024 - A comprehensive review of lunar lava tube base construction and field research on a potential Earth test site.