Kinetic penetrator with a retrieval tether

A retrievable kinetic penetrator, comprising:

• a tubular body having a first end and a second end;
• a nose coupled to the first end of the tubular body, wherein the nose is configured to penetrate a ground surface and subsurface materials of a subterranean ground volume;
• a retrievable component positioned within the tubular body;
• and
• a retrieval system including:
• a tether coupled to the retrievable component, wherein the tether is configured to facilitate recovery of the retrievable component from the tubular body;
• a surface drag device coupled to the tether and releasable coupled to the tubular body;
• and
• a propelling device configured to eject the surface drag device towards the ground surface.

A kinetic penetrator system, comprising:

• a tubular body having a first end and a second end;
• a nose coupled to the first end of the tubular body, wherein the nose is configured to penetrate a ground surface and subsurface materials of a subterranean ground volume;
• and
• a retrieval system including a tether coupled to at least one of the tubular body and a retrievable component;
• a protective sheath having an inner volume configured to receive the tether and an outer surface configured to reduce the prevalence of subterranean in-fill, wherein the protective sheath includes a bellows having a first end coupled to the tubular body and a second end configured to pay out;
• and
• a pressurizing device configured to inflate the bellows to facilitate reducing subterranean in-fill.