Komatsu Shows Construction Equipment for Moon and Deep Sea Exploration
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Komatsu Shows Construction Equipment for Moon and Deep Sea Exploration

Japanese company Komatsu showed the public two unique developments: an electric underwater bulldozer and a concept lunar excavator. Both machines are designed to perform tasks in extreme conditions - underwater and on the surface of the Moon, respectively.


The electric amphibious bulldozer is an evolutionary continuation of the D155W model, which has been successfully used for underwater work since the 1970s.

The new version features electric motors instead of the traditional internal combustion engine. This improves the car's environmental friendliness and allows to bypass restrictions related to the length of the snorkel.

Komatsu Shows Construction Equipment for Moon and Deep Sea ExplorationKomatsu Plans to Get Serious About Building Moon Bases. Photo: youtube.com

The bulldozer is capable of working at a depth of up to 7 meters, but in the future it is planned to increase this figure to 50 meters. The weight of the machine is 35 tons.

The source of energy for the electric drive is a battery with a capacity of 450 kWh, with the potential to increase to 500 kWh. This will provide up to six hours of autonomous operation, and charging will take only four hours. Remote control - this is done for safety reasons for operators.

The lunar excavator has attracted no less attention. It is being developed as part of the Stardust program, which is aimed at developing autonomous technologies for the exploration of the Moon.

Komatsu engineers rely on virtual "digital twin" technology that simulates the excavator's performance in low-gravity conditions, one-sixth that of Earth.

To compensate for the difficulties of digging lunar soil, the developers increased the area of ​​the tracks' support on the surface by means of additional retractable sections. All the machine's drives are electric, the energy is taken from batteries and fuel cells.

The excavator is autonomous and equipped with sensors to analyze the surface, detect obstacles and evaluate soil properties. Once given a task, the machine moves to the work site independently, avoiding obstacles, and begins performing tasks.

Other companies, including Toyota, are also offering concepts for conquering the Moon. Photo: youtube.com

Mutual work with other types of lunar special equipment, for example with a tracked dump truck, which is also under development, will allow for a full-fledged construction process to be organized on the Earth's satellite.

For example, an excavator will be able to transfer the collected regolith to a dump truck, which will take it outside the work area. An interesting solution was the possibility of mutual recharging of the machines when the battery level decreases.
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