Robotic Arm
7-DOF Rad-Tolerant Robotic Arm for Manipulation Tasks
The 7-degree-of-freedom radiation-tolerant robotic arm is a 40 kg manipulator designed for dexterous maintenance, manufacturing, and resource utilization tasks across lunar installations. Built with aluminum 6061-T6 links, harmonic drives, and brushless DC motors, it provides a 2.0 m reach, a 25 kg payload capacity in 1/6 g, and positioning repeatability within ±0.1 mm while drawing 200 W. Operating on the Moon exposes mechanisms to damaging radiation and abrasive regolith, requiring sealed gearboxes and radiation tolerance to prevent mechanical seizure and electronic degradation over a 15-year lifetime. For ongoing maintenance, the architecture uses robotically replaceable joint modules.
7-degree-of-freedom rad-tolerant robotic arm providing dexterous manipulation for L1-MNT, L1-MFG, and L1-ISR operations.
Purpose
7-degree-of-freedom rad-tolerant robotic arm providing dexterous manipulation for L1-MNT, L1-MFG, and L1-ISR operations.
Context
Child of L2-ROB-MANIP within the Lunar Ark system
Principles
- ▸7 DOF for full kinematic dexterity
- ▸Reach 2 m, payload 25 kg in 1/6 g
- ▸Repeatability ±0.1 mm
- ▸Sealed joints against lunar dust
- ▸Long-life harmonic-drive reducers
Typical implementations
- ▸NASA Robonaut R2 / R5 heritage
- ▸ISS Dextre / Canadarm2 SSRMS
- ▸Industrial 7-DOF arms (KUKA LBR iiwa)
Lunar considerations
- ▸Robotic-replaceable joint modules via L1-MNT
- ▸Long-life BLDC motors with sealed gearboxes
- ▸Coordinated with L3-ROB-MANIP-CTRL
Specifications
Functional
| primary function | 7-degree-of-freedom rad-tolerant robotic arm providing dexterous manipulation for L1-MNT, L1-MFG, and L1-ISR operations. |
| dof | 7 |
| reach m | 2.0 |
| payload kg | 25 |
| repeatability mm | 0.1 |
Physical
| mass kg | 40 |
| materials | Aluminum 6061-T6 links, Harmonic drives, BLDC motors |
| vacuum compatibility | True |
Operational
| power consumption w | 200 |
| thermal range c | -40, 70 |
| lifetime years | 15 |
| mtbf hours | 15000 |
Interfaces
Provides
- Manipulation for maintenance
- Pick-and-place for production
Requires
- Position/torque commands
- Actuators (~200 W)
Cite this entry
Lunar Ark Codex. "Robotic Arm" (L3-ROB-MANIP-ARM). Retrieved 10 September 2026, from https://lunarark.com/entry/L3-ROB-MANIP-ARM
Licensed CC-BY-SA 4.0. You may reuse and adapt this entry with attribution, under the same licence.