Related papers: Autonomous Rapid Exploration in Close-Proximity of…

This paper investigates the mission planning problem for spacecraft confronting orbital debris to achieve autonomous avoidance. Firstly, combined with the avoidance requirements, a closed-loop framework of autonomous avoidance for orbital…

In this work we propose a holistic framework for autonomous aerial inspection tasks, using semantically-aware, yet, computationally efficient planning and mapping algorithms. The system leverages state-of-the-art receding horizon…

This paper presents a novel methodology to control spacecraft swarms about singleasteroids with arbitrary gravitational potential coefficients. This approach enablesthe use of small, autonomous swarm spacecraft in conjunction with a…

Mobile robotics is a research area that has witnessed incredible advances for the last decades. Robot navigation is an essential task for mobile robots. Many methods are proposed for allowing robots to navigate within different…

We propose the concept of a space mission to probe the so called flyby anomaly, an unexpected velocity change experienced by some deep-space probes using earth gravity assists. The key feature of this proposal is the use of GNSS systems to…

Neural Networks (NNs) can provide major empirical performance improvements for closed-loop systems, but they also introduce challenges in formally analyzing those systems' safety properties. In particular, this work focuses on estimating…

The exploration of asteroids and comets is important in the quest for the formation of the Solar System and it is an important step for human space travel. Moving on the surface of asteroids is challenging for future robotic explorers due…

We introduce NEOviz, an interactive visualization system designed to assist planetary defense experts in the visual analysis of the movements of near-Earth objects in the Solar System that might prove hazardous to Earth. Asteroids are often…

This article addresses the challenge of vision-based proximity navigation in asteroid exploration missions and on-orbit servicing. Traditional feature extraction methods struggle with the significant appearance variations of asteroids due…

The collision avoidance constraints are prominent as non-convex, non-differentiable, and challenging when defined in optimization-based motion planning problems. To overcome these issues, this paper presents a novel non-conservative…

Altitude-controlled balloons hold great promise for performing high-priority scientific investigations of Venus's atmosphere and geological phenomena, including tectonic and volcanic activity, as demonstrated by a number of recent…

Spacecraft relative motion planning is concerned with the design and execution of maneuvers relative to a nominal target. These types of maneuvers are frequently utilized in missions such as rendezvous and docking, satellite inspection and…

The space sector is experiencing a flourishing growth and evidence is mounting that the near future will be characterized by a large amount of deep-space missions. In the last decade, CubeSats have granted affordable access to space due to…

Accurate gravity field models are essential for safe proximity operations around small bodies. State-of-the-art techniques use spherical harmonics or high-fidelity polyhedron shape models. Unfortunately, these techniques can become…

Planetary exploration increasingly relies on autonomous robotic systems capable of perceiving, interpreting, and reconstructing their surroundings in the absence of global positioning or real-time communication with Earth. Rovers operating…

Autonomous exploration using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) is essential for various tasks such as building inspections, rescue operations, deliveries, and warehousing. However, there are two main limitations to previous approaches: they…

Autonomous Science is a field of study which aims to extend the autonomy of exploration robots from low level functionality, such as on-board perception and obstacle avoidance, to science autonomy, which allows scientists to specify…

Human long duration exploration missions (LDEMs) raise a number of technological challenges. This paper addresses the question of the crew autonomy: as the distances increase, the communication delays and constraints tend to prevent the…

Exploration and mapping of unknown environments is a fundamental task in applications for autonomous robots. In this article, we present a complete framework for deploying MAVs in autonomous exploration missions in unknown subterranean…

Safe, reliable navigation in extreme, unfamiliar terrain is required for future robotic space exploration missions. Recent generative-AI methods learn semantically aware navigation policies from large, cross-embodiment datasets, but offer…