Missions such as the Ingenuity helicopter have shown the advantages of using novel locomotion modes to increase the scientific return of planetary exploration missions. Legged robots can further expand the reach and capability of future planetary missions by traversing more difficult terrain than wheeled rovers, such as jumping over cracks on the ground or traversing rugged terrain with boulders. To develop and test algorithms for using quadruped robots, the AAPLE project was carried out at DFKI. As part of the project, we conducted a series of field experiments on the Volcano on the Aeolian island of Vulcano, an active stratovolcano near Sicily, Italy. The experiments focused on validating newly developed state-of-the-art adaptive optimal control algorithms for quadrupedal locomotion in a high-fidelity analog environment for Lunar and Martian surfaces. This paper presents the technical approach, test plan, software architecture, field deployment strategy, and evaluation results from the Vulcano campaign.

Planetary exploration missions require robots capable of navigating extreme and unknown environments. While wheeled rovers have dominated past missions, their mobility is limited to traversable surfaces. Legged robots, especially quadrupeds, can overcome these limitations by handling uneven, obstacle-rich, and deformable terrains. However, deploying such robots in unknown conditions is challenging due to the need for environment-specific control, which is infeasible when terrain and robot parameters are uncertain. This work presents a modular control framework that combines model-based dynamic control with online model adaptation and adaptive footstep planning to address uncertainties in both robot and terrain properties. The framework includes state estimation for quadrupeds with and without contact sensing, supports runtime reconfiguration, and is integrated into ROS 2 with open-source availability. Its performance was validated on two quadruped platforms, multiple hardware architectures, and in a volcano field test, where the robot walked over 700 m.

Localization of an autonomous mobile robot during planetary exploration is challenging due to the unknown terrain, the difficult lighting conditions and the lack of any global reference such as satellite navigation systems. We present a novel approach for robot localization based on ultra-wideband (UWB) technology. The robot sets up its own reference coordinate system by distributing UWB anchor nodes in the environment via a rocket-propelled launcher system. This allows the creation of a localization space in which UWB measurements are employed to supplement traditional SLAM-based techniques. The system was developed for our involvement in the ESA-ESRIC challenge 2021 and the AMADEE-24, an analog Mars simulation in Armenia by the Austrian Space Forum (ÖWF).

This paper presents the concept of a tethered variable inertial attitude control mechanism for a modular jumping-limbed robot designed for planetary exploration in low-gravity environments. The system, named SPLITTER, comprises two sub-10 kg quadrupedal robots connected by a tether, capable of executing successive jumping gaits and stabilizing in-flight using inertial morphing technology. Through model predictive control (MPC), attitude control was demonstrated by adjusting the limbs and tether length to modulate the system's principal moments of inertia. Our results indicate that this control strategy allows the robot to stabilize during flight phases without needing traditional flywheel-based systems or relying on aerodynamics, making the approach mass-efficient and ideal for small-scale planetary robots' successive jumps. The paper outlines the dynamics, MPC formulation for inertial morphing, actuator requirements, and simulation results, illustrating the potential of agile exploration for small-scale rovers in low-gravity environments like the Moon or asteroids.

NASA has equipped its Mars 2020 rover with everything it needs to explore the Red planet, except for a name – until now. Called Perseverance, the rover's title was picked from a'Name the Rover' essay contest that received 28,000 entries from children ranging from kindergartners to high school. The name was revealed on Thursday during a live streaming and was chosen by seventh grader Alex Mathers who's winning essay compared the rover to the human race. 'If you think about it, all of these names of past Mars rovers are qualities we possess as humans.' 'We are always curious, and seek opportunity. We have the spirit and insight to explore the Moon, Mars, and beyond. But, if rovers are to be the qualities of us as a race, we missed the most important thing.

In late August, an astronaut on board the International Space Station remotely operated a humanoid robot to inspect and repair a solar farm on Mars--or at least a simulated Mars environment, which in this case is a room with rust-colored floors, walls, and curtains at the German Aerospace Center, or DLR, in Oberpfaffenhofen, near Munich. European Space Agency astronaut Paolo Nespoli commanded the humanoid, called Rollin' Justin, as the robot performed a series of navigation, maintenance, and repair tasks. Instead of relying on direct teleoperation, Nespoli used a tablet computer to issue high-level commands to the robot. In one task, he used the tablet to position the robot and have it take pictures from different angles. Another command instructed Justin to grasp a cable and connect it to a data port.

As we start looking towards more comprehensive exploration of the Moon and of Mars, the assumption is that we're working on sending humans to the surface of those worlds. It's going to be exponentially more difficult and dangerous than sending robots, but that's what exploration is all about, right? The idea is using robotic telepresence for planetary exploration. From orbit, the authors argue, a small team of humans would remote operate rovers and other robotic systems and as a result they could do more exploration while keeping the overall mission safer and cheaper. We already use telerobotics for planetary exploration--we've got robots all over the solar system sending us data and then patiently doing what we tell them to do.

In terms of overall bang for your buck, solid-fuel rockets are pretty great: They're dead simple, very reliable, and offer respectable efficiency in a very small form factor, as long as you're prepared to handle a lot of thrust all at once and then never again. While some robots have attempted to use rockets to jump from place to place, controllability has always been an issue, since solid-fuel rockets give you a fixed amount of thrust whether you want it or not, and that thrust isn't always directed in exactly the way you'd like. At ICRA last week, researchers from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) introduced a small robotic explorer that uses a single solid-fuel rocket to launch itself into the air. What's new is that their robot includes some braking rockets that help it make pinpoint landings, as well as a clever gyroscopic system to make sure that it flies straight as well as providing a way for the robot to get around after landing. The 450-gram robot consists of a housing with batteries and sensors, a reaction wheel (also inside the housing), a primary solid-fuel rocket engine (an Estes C11 with a total impulse of 10 newton-seconds), and two smaller opposing thrust motors.

Sticks and stones may break your bones, but rods and cables may one day help NASA explore planets. For a few years now, scientists at NASA's Ames research center and students from the University of California Berkeley's Best Lab have teamed up to create so-called tentricity robots, which they hope to one day use for planetary exploration. These structures rely on a constant interaction between compression and tension. Because the robots have no rigid connections, their shapes can be deformed using a series of small motors. The motors pull on the cables and make the bots move by either rolling or hopping.

Space exploration aficionados experienced the thrill of anticipation in the hours before President Trump's speech Tuesday night, with advance word that he was going to call for a return to the human exploration of space. Sure enough, in his closing words Trump declared that for a country soon to celebrate its 250th anniversary, "American footprints on distant worlds are not too big a dream." Trump's brief, offhand comment had the tone of an impulsive notion that, like so many of his other policy pronouncements, won't get any follow-through. Let's hope so, because the idea of sending humans to explore distant worlds is loopy, incredibly wasteful, and likely to cripple American science rather than inspire it. And that's assuming that Trump's notion doesn't have the ulterior motivation of diverting American scientists from their Job One, which is to fight climate change right here at home.