Research on the Mechanical Properties of Mojave Mars Simulant-1 (MMS-1) Soil

Abstract

According to the mission scenario of the International Space Exploration Collaboration Group (ISECG), a "Mars sample return plan" is underway to bring the soil of Mars back to Earth by 2030. In the near future, in order to efficiently perform various operations on Mars (filling, excavation, sampling, ground improvement, etc.), pre-simulation on Earth will be important. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop an appropriate simulated soil and to understand its material and mechanical properties. Based on this background, the authors are investigating the physical and basic mechanical properties of Mojave Mars Simulant soil (MMS-1), which has been reported as a simulated soil for Mars. This study focused on the particle shape of MMS-1 and was conducted to investigate the effect of particle shape on shear strength and volume change. As a result, it was revealed that MMS-1 has a higher shear strength than Toyoura sand and has a clear peak as the relative density increases. Moreover, MMS-1 is a material that causes volume expansion during shearing even for low stress and density states compared with artificial soil, and it was revealed that this is due to the angularity of the MMS-1 particles.