Related papers: LunarNav: Crater-based Localization for Long-range…
Real-time analysis of Martian craters is crucial for mission-critical operations, including safe landings and geological exploration. This work leverages the latest breakthroughs for on-the-edge crater detection aboard spacecraft. We…
Planetary exploration using aerial assets has the potential for unprecedented scientific discoveries on Mars. While NASA's Mars helicopter Ingenuity proved flight in Martian atmosphere is possible, future Mars rotorcraft will require…
Planetary exploration robots must navigate uneven terrain while building reliable maps for space missions. However, most existing methods incorporate traversability constraints but may not handle high uncertainty in elevation estimates near…
A stable, reliable, and controllable orbit lock system is crucial to an electron (or ion) accelerator because the beam orbit and beam energy instability strongly affect the quality of the beam delivered to experimental halls. Currently,…
Recently, there has been a growing interest in the use of a SmallSat platform for the future Lunar Navigation Satellite System (LNSS) to allow for cost-effectiveness and rapid deployment. However, many design choices are yet to be finalized…
In this work we show that modern data-driven machine learning techniques can be successfully applied on lunar surface remote sensing data to learn, in an unsupervised way, sufficiently good representations of the data distribution to enable…
(abridged) The technique of gravitational microlensing is currently unique in its ability to provide a sample of terrestrial exoplanets around both Galactic disk and bulge stars, allowing to measure their abundance and determine their…
The Mars Perseverance rover applies computer vision for navigation and hazard avoidance. The challenge to do onboard object recognition highlights the need for low-power, customized training, often including low-contrast backgrounds. We…
Enabling fully autonomous robots capable of navigating and exploring large-scale, unknown and complex environments has been at the core of robotics research for several decades. A key requirement in autonomous exploration is building…
Tactful coordination on earth between hundreds of operators from diverse disciplines and backgrounds is needed to ensure that Martian rovers have a high likelihood of achieving their science goals while enduring the harsh environment of the…
Two radio-science instruments have included into the Luna-Glob and Luna-Resource projects in the frame of Russian Luna exploration program: the lander's radio beacon and the orbiter's receiver. Three types of experiments are planned:…
The resurgence of lunar operations requires advancements in cislunar navigation and Space Situational Awareness (SSA). Challenges associated to these tasks have created an interest in autonomous planning, navigation, and tracking…
One objective of Artemis science is to determine the impact human activities have on the lunar environment, which might compromise science objectives and measurements. We perform a preliminary analysis of the contamination associated with…
We present ARTPS (Autonomous Rover Target Prioritization System), a novel hybrid AI system that combines depth estimation, anomaly detection, and learnable curiosity scoring for autonomous exploration of planetary surfaces. Our approach…
Traversability assessment of deformable terrain is vital for safe rover navigation on planetary surfaces. Machine learning (ML) is a powerful tool for traversability prediction but faces predictive uncertainty. This uncertainty leads to…
Existing navigation systems mostly consider "success" when the robot reaches within 1m radius to a goal. This precision is insufficient for emerging applications where the robot needs to be positioned precisely relative to an object for…
This paper presents a navigation strategy to fly to the Moon along a Weak Stability Boundary transfer trajectory. A particular strategy is devised to ensure capture into an uncontrolled relatively stable orbit at the Moon. Both uncertainty…
As humanity prepares for new missions to the Moon and Mars, astronauts will need to operate with greater autonomy, given the communication delays that make real-time support from Earth difficult. For instance, messages between Mars and…
Autonomous exploration of unknown space is an essential component for the deployment of mobile robots in the real world. Safe navigation is crucial for all robotics applications and requires accurate and consistent maps of the robot's…
The ability to traverse an unknown environment is crucial for autonomous robot operations. However, due to the limited sensing capabilities and system constraints, approaching this problem with a single robot agent can be slow, costly, and…