ROOM
53
Astronautics
W
ith many of the present and future
space exploration missions revolving
around the exploitation of the Moon,
there is a need to gather the knowledge
and to develop the technology that will eventually
make these missions affordable and sustainable.
Unlike life in low Earth orbit (LEO) where resources
can be brought form the ground, for humans to
thrive beyond LEO resources have to be found,
extracted, processed, managed and used directly at
the place of exploration. Characterising the local
environment in the search for specific resources is
the first necessary step of the voyage that
humankind is already undertaking to explore and
inhabit the Solar System.
In this endeavour, robots are set to play a key
role by working side-by-side with humans and the
objective of our mission at the Space Robotics Lab at
Tohoku University in Sendai, Japan, is to develop the
capabilities for planetary robots to be more efficient
in reaching positional targets, more effective in the
selection of regions of interest, and more reliable in
overcoming the obstacles and withstanding the risks
of performing in outer space. Our plan to develop
a high-speed, improved-mobility rover is just the
beginning of a journey that will take humans farther
into the Solar System than ever before.
Gateway to exploration
Concrete plans to develop a cis-lunar outpost in
a Near-Rectilinear Halo Orbit (NRHO) around the
Moon are beginning to take shape [1]. This outpost
will allow human and robotic exploration of the
Moon, giving the chance to further study some of
the most compelling questions about the formation
of the universe and to unveil its potential in terms of
availability of resources for use in future exploration,
commercial activities and habitation.
The Moon and cis-lunar space are considered
crucial in the development of the technologies that
will eventually bring humans to other planetary
bodies. Besides serving as a proving ground for
It has been said many times before that to become a multi-planet species,
we must first be able to conquer the Moon and use its resources effectively
before making the leap to other worlds. To achieve this aim, a team based
in the Space Robotics Lab at Tohoku, Japan, are working on a high-speed,
improved-mobility rover to help identify regions of interest on the lunar
surface. Could this be the start of a journey that will eventually help humans
get to Mars in the 2030s?
David Rodríguez-
Martínez
PhD student in
planetary robotics,
Tohoku University,
Sendai, Japan
Dr Kazuya Yoshida
Space Robotics Lab,
Tohoku University,
Sendai, Japan
High-speed
lunar
rovers
Team Hakuto
of Japan is
developing a
rover that it will
fly to the Moon
on a lander built
by another
Google Lunar
XPRIZE
competitor,
TeamIndus.
