Related papers: Advancing lunar exploration through virtual realit…

Future crewed missions to the Moon will face significant environmental and operational challenges, posing risks to the safety and performance of astronauts navigating its inhospitable surface. Whilst head-up displays (HUDs) have proven…

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.…

Revived interest in lunar exploration is heralding a new generation of design solutions in support of human operations on the Moon. While space system design has traditionally been guided by prototype deployments in analogue studies, the…

Future astronauts living and working on the Moon will face extreme environmental conditions impeding their operational safety and performance. While it has been suggested that Augmented Reality (AR) Head-Up Displays (HUDs) could potentially…

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…

Robotics simulation has been an integral part of research and development in the robotics area. The simulation eliminates the possibility of harm to sensors, motors, and the physical structure of a real robot by enabling robotics…

Synthetic image generation is one of the crucial input for planetary missions. It enables researchers and engineers to visualize planned planetary missions, test imaging systems and plan exploration activities in a virtual environment…

We present a simulation framework for lunar construction work involving multiple autonomous machines. The framework supports modelling of construction scenarios and autonomy solutions, execution of the scenarios in simulation, and analysis…

Space agencies are in the process of drawing up carefully thought-out Concepts of Operations (ConOps) for future human missions on the Moon. These are typically assessed and validated through costly and logistically demanding analogue field…

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…

As humans venture deeper into space, the need for a lunar settlement, housing the first group of settlers, grows steadily. By means of new technologies such as in situ resource utilisation (ISRU) as well as computational design, this goal…

This contribution reports on a software framework that uses physically-based rendering to simulate camera operation in lunar conditions. The focus is on generating synthetic images qualitatively similar to those produced by an actual camera…

Autonomous precision navigation to land onto the Moon relies on vision sensors. Computer vision algorithms are designed, trained and tested using synthetic simulations. High quality terrain models have been produced by Moon orbiters…

Lunar exploration has become a key focus, driving scientific and technological advances. Ongoing missions are deploying rovers to the surface of the Moon, targeting the far side and south pole. However, these terrains pose challenges,…

Robotic prospecting for critical resources on the Moon, such as ilmenite, rare earth elements, and water ice, requires robust exploration methods given the diverse terrain and harsh environmental conditions. Although numerous analog field…

We report on our ongoing efforts to develop, implement, and test VR activities for the introductory astronomy course and laboratory. Specifically, we developed immersive activities for two challenging "3D" concepts: Moon phases, and stellar…

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 allure of lunar surface exploration and development has recently captured widespread global attention. Robots have proved to be indispensable for exploring uncharted terrains, uncovering and leveraging local resources, and facilitating…

Humans and robots will need to collaborate in order to create a sustainable human lunar presence by the end of the 2020s. This includes cases in which a human will be required to teleoperate an autonomous rover that has encountered an…

Future Moon bases will likely be constructed using resources mined from the surface of the Moon. The difficulty of maintaining a human workforce on the Moon and communications lag with Earth means that mining will need to be conducted using…