Optimal Design and Landing Simulation of an Asteroid Probe with Variable Stiffness Legs

Attachment mechanisms are used and usually firmly connected to the main body of the asteroid probe to maintain the attitude and ensure the following sampling work. However, the probe with rigid connections has poor buffering performance and thus has a great risk to result in the damage of the scientific equipment at touchdown. In this paper, a variable stiffness mechanism is used to enhance the buffering performance of the asteroid probe. Since there are uncertainties in landing conditions, the Optimal Latin Hypercube sampling method is used to evaluate the landing performances of the probe. Landing dynamics with rigid connections and the proposed variable stiffness mechanisms are both modeled and analyzed. The average of the maximum forces at the joints between the probe body and the solar panel is reduced by 64.52% with the variable stiffness legs. Further, the Multi-island genetic algorithm is used to optimize the dimensions of the buffer mechanism, which finally ensures the buffer performance of the mechanism and enhances the supporting ability of the attached mechanism.