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The exploration of the lunar poles and the collection of samples from the martian surface are characterized by shorter time windows demanding increased autonomy and speeds. Autonomous mobile robots must intrinsically cope with a wider range…
Due to its relatively large eccentricity and proximity to the Sun, Mercury's orbital motion provides one of the best solar-system tests of relativistic gravity. We emphasize the number of feasible relativistic gravity tests that can be…
In this work, we propose the use of Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) for rover localization on Mars. Precise pose estimation is an important task for mobile robots exploring planetary surfaces, as they operate in GPS-denied environments.…
Slip detection is of fundamental importance for the safety and efficiency of rovers driving on the surface of extraterrestrial bodies. Current planetary rover slip detection systems rely on visual perception on the assumption that…
This chapter explores the practice of conducting user research studies and design assessments in virtual reality (VR). An overview of key VR hardware and software tools is provided, including game engines, such as Unity and Unreal Engine.…
This document serves as supplementary material for two International Society for Terrain-Vehicle Systems conference publications regarding in situ soil property estimation by Wagner et al. in 2023 and 2025. It covers the derivation of the…
Gravity-Assisted maneuvers have been used as a technique to reduce fuel consumption in deep space missions for several decades now. It opened the doors of the exterior solar system. The literature shows those results, as well as new…
The harsh environment on the lunar surface presents unique technological challenges for space exploration. This paper presents research on the design and development of the Tele- scope-deployment High-vacuum teleOperated Rover (THOR),…
Future planetary exploration missions will require reaching challenging regions such as craters and steep slopes. Such regions are ubiquitous and present science-rich targets potentially containing information regarding the planet's…
Highly accurate real-time localization is of fundamental importance for the safety and efficiency of planetary rovers exploring the surface of Mars. Mars rover operations rely on vision-based systems to avoid hazards as well as plan safe…
General relativity (GR) is a highly successful theory that describes gravity as a geometric phenomenon. The gravitational redshift, a classic test of GR, can potentially be violated in alternative gravity theories, and experimental tests on…
Proprioceptive sensors on planetary rovers serve for state estimation and for understanding terrain and locomotion performance. While inertial measurement units (IMUs) are widely used to this effect, force-torque sensors are less explored…
Existing capabilities in laser ranging, optical interferometry and metrology, in combination with precision frequency standards, atom-based quantum sensors, and drag-free technologies, are critical for the space-based tests of fundamental…
The Mercury Orbiter radio Science Experiment (MORE) is one of the experiments on-board the ESA/JAXA BepiColombo mission to Mercury, to be launched in October 2018. Thanks to full on-board and on-ground instrumentation performing very…
The laws of gravitation have been tested for a long time with steadily improving precision, leading at some moment of time to paradigmatic evolutions. Pursuing this continual effort is of great importance for science. In this communication,…
The use of eXtended Reality (XR) technologies in the space domain has increased significantly over the past few years as it can offer many advantages when simulating complex and challenging environments. Space agencies are currently using…
Developing algorithms for extra-terrestrial robotic exploration has always been challenging. Along with the complexity associated with these environments, one of the main issues remains the evaluation of said algorithms. With the regained…
The European Large Logistics Lander (EL3) is being designed to carry out cargo delivery missions in support of future lunar ground crews. The capacity of virtual reality (VR) to visualize and interactively simulate the unique lunar…
The regularity of pulsar emissions becomes apparent once we reference the pulses' times of arrivals to the inertial rest frame of the solar system. It follows that errors in the determination of Earth's position with respect to the…
Semi or completely autonomous unmanned vehicles, remotely driven or controlled through artificial intelligence, are instrumental to foster space exploration. One of the most essential tasks of a rover is terrain traversing which requires…