Related papers: Exploring the near-surface at the lunar South Pole…
The goal of local helioseismology is to elicit three-dimensional information about the sub-surface (or far-side) structure and dynamics of the Sun from observations of the helioseismic wave field at the surface. The physical quantities of…
Martian subsurface habitability and astrobiology can be evaluated via a lava tube cave, without drilling. MACIE addresses two key goals of the Decadal Survey (2013-2022) and three MEPAG goals. New advances in robotic architectures,…
The visual detection and tracking of surface terrain is required for spacecraft to safely land on or navigate within close proximity to celestial objects. Current approaches rely on template matching with pre-gathered patch-based features,…
The Lunar Surface Electromagnetics Experiment (LuSEE-Night) is a joint NASA-DOE-ESA low-frequency radio telescope that will reach the lunar far side in 2027. The unknown dielectric properties of the subsurface at the LuSEE-Night landing…
Seismology is the main tool for inferring the deep interior structures of Earth and potentially also of other planetary bodies in the solar system. Terrestrial seismology is influenced by the presence of the ocean-generated microseismic…
Recently, there has been a surge of international interest in extraterrestrial exploration targeting the Moon, Mars, the moons of Mars, and various asteroids. This contribution discusses how current state-of-the-art Earth-based testing for…
Navigation and mapping on the lunar surface require robust perception under challenging conditions, including poorly textured environments, high-contrast lighting, and limited computational resources. This paper presents a real-time mapping…
Automatic terrain recognition in Mars rover images is an important problem not just for navigation, but for scientists interested in studying rock types, and by extension, conditions of the ancient Martian paleoclimate and habitability.…
The SEIS (Seismic Experiment for Interior Structures) instrument onboard the InSight mission to Mars is the critical instrument for determining the interior structure of Mars, the current level of tectonic activity and the meteorite flux.…
We outline a concept for OWL-Moon, a 50-100m aperture telescope located on the surface of the Moon, to address three major areas in astronomy, namely the detection of biosignatures on habitable exoplanets, the geophysics of exoplanets, and…
In an era marked by renewed interest in lunar exploration and the prospect of establishing a sustainable human presence on the Moon, innovative approaches supporting mission preparation and astronaut training are imperative. To this end,…
This study introduces a data-driven approach using machine learning (ML) techniques to explore and predict albedo anomalies on the Moon's surface. The research leverages diverse planetary datasets, including high-spatial-resolution albedo…
The origin, distribution, depth and volume of lunar volatiles remain open questions. One of the possible sources of Moon's volatiles is their volcanic outgassing during the peak of lunar volcanic activity ~3.5 Ga. This same outgassing would…
The search for extraterrestrial life has long been a primary focus of scientific exploration, driven by rapid advancements in technology and our understanding of the universe. The discovery of water on Mars has sparked significant interest,…
We present a modular, full-stack autonomy system for lunar surface navigation and mapping developed for the Lunar Autonomy Challenge. Operating in a GNSS-denied, visually challenging environment, our pipeline integrates semantic…
Extraterrestrial rovers with a general-purpose robotic arm have many potential applications in lunar and planetary exploration. Introducing autonomy into such systems is desirable for increasing the time that rovers can spend gathering…
The renewed interest in lunar exploration and the development of future lunar communication and navigation services highlight the need for a precise, stable, and interoperable geodetic and timing infrastructure on the Moon. NovaMoon,…
Soil assessment is important for mobile robot planning and navigation on natural and planetary environments. Terramechanic characteristics can be inferred from the thermal behaviour of soils under the influence of sunlight using remote…
The amount and distribution of water on the lunar surface are related to the input and production of water by solar wind and meteoroid bombardment, balanced by photodestruction and mobility across the surface. Using the Stratospheric…
Lunar caves are promising features for long-term and permanent human presence on the moon. However, given their inaccessibility to imaging from survey satellites, the concrete environment within the underground cavities is not well known.…