College
College of Engineering and Polymer Science
Date of Last Revision
2026-05-28 08:02:18
Major
Aerospace Systems Engineering
Honors Course
Aerospace Honors Project
Number of Credits
2
Degree Name
Bachelor of Science
Date of Expected Graduation
Spring 2026
Abstract
Testing of extraterrestrial rovers is a growing concern as lunar exploration as an industry is becoming increasingly commercialized. Currently, the way rover testing is conducted is on a soil regolith which is already available. The structure of the soil, however, is harmful to humans and requires a full bunny suit and respirator to be worn during the conduction of the experiment. This limitation, along with the expensive price tag, prevents college university students and companies from establishing a rover test area in labs. The goal of the overall project is to create a safer testing environment by mimicking the soil-to-tire interaction with a different soil base. A partner design team is working in tandem to develop this soil. After it is created, it must be tested to ensure the regolith characteristics are acceptable. This project’s objective is to make an apparatus that will check the soil density within a budget of approximately $500, ensuring the correct density is met every time. This will be achieved by designing a densometer, similar to a cone penetrometer, to impact the soil while collecting various data points. This densometer will operate in a test bed of soil simulant and measure the soil density along with other parameters to provide reliable data key to proper rover performance evaluations.
Research Sponsor
Elizabeth Clifford
First Reader
Scott Sawyer
Second Reader
Joseph D. Fencile
Honors Faculty Advisor
Scott Sawyer
Proprietary and/or Confidential Information
No
Community Engaged Scholarship
No
Recommended Citation
Lee, Liam and Innocenzi, Vincent, "Lunar Regolith Densometer" (2026). Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects. 2241.
https://ideaexchange.uakron.edu/honors_research_projects/2241
Included in
Space Vehicles Commons, Systems Engineering and Multidisciplinary Design Optimization Commons