Parabolic Arc

ASTROBOTIC PR – PITTSBURGH, PA – NOV. 29, 2011 – NASA today selected Astrobotic Technology Inc. for a contract to develop robotic teams to explore extensive caves on Mars, the Moon, and other planetary destinations. Astrobotic will develop robots that cooperate to overcome the challenges of underground planetary missions: no light for solar power, radio communications blocked by rock, and mobility challenged by rough terrain.

Through a subcontract to Carnegie Mellon University, the research will build on multi-robot and subterranean robot research pioneered at CMU to improve capabilities and reduce risk of failure relative to single-robot missions.

Recent interest in exploration of planetary caves was prompted by the discovery of skylights on the Moon and on Mars through satellite imagery. The presence of these skylights, believed to be entrances to lava tubes, on two distinct planetary bodies suggests that these features can be found on other planets. It is unknown whether these systems are present as intricate ‘plumbing’ networks extending for hundreds of miles, or occur as isolated caverns of limited extent. Planetary caves could be ideal early shelters for robots and crews against the radiation, micrometeorites and extremely high and low temperatures of the lunar surface.

“Team exploration with robots is similar to a football team,” said Steve Huber, Astrobotic’s principal investigator for the contract. “One may call the plays, some do the heavy work, and others are sufficiently nimble to reach the farthest pockets of the cave.”

Selection by NASA will be followed by a negotiation period before the $125,000 contract is formally awarded to the company.

“NASA officials see Astrobotic as a key option to get their payloads to the Moon at a cost the agency can afford in this tight budget environment,” said Astrobotic President David Gump. “This is the eighth lunar contract we’ve won, and an indication of the interest NASA has in commercial approaches to lunar exploration.”

About Astrobotic Technology:

A spin-out from Carnegie Mellon University, Astrobotic delivers payloads and collects data for space agencies, aerospace corporations and academic researchers. The first expedition in 2014-15 will carry scientific instruments, engineering experiments and sample components that space agencies and companies want to test in the lunar environment. For corporate sponsors, it will deliver promotions that involve customers directly in the adventure of lunar exploration. An early goal is prospecting at the Moon’s poles for water and methane that can be transformed into propellant to refuel spacecraft for their return to Earth. More information is available at: www.astrobotic.net.

Editor’s Note: This is one of 40 Phase I awards being made under NASA’s Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) program. NASA says that awards in this program are typically for 12 months in amounts of up to $125,000. The space agency also announced the selection of 360 proposals under the Small Business Innovation Research program.

Astrobotic’s description of the project in its STTR application is below.

TECHNICAL ABSTRACT

The proposed innovation is a heterogeneous multi-robot team developed as a platform for effective subsurface planetary exploration. State-of-art robotic exploration is based on single-robot systems with human controllers augmented by limited automation. This system requires near-constant communication and a single failure results in the end of the mission. A multi-robot system offers more efficient execution of mission tasks, such as exploration and mapping. The robotic team can re-configure in novel ways to extend range, increase mapping fidelity, or maintain a communication link.

Innovative robot configurations will be developed to overcome the challenges of the subsurface environment. These challenges include power in the dark, communication to Earth, and mobility in rocky terrain. The robot team will implement state-of-art software developed at CMU to enable navigation of rough terrain, autonomous collaboration among large multi-robot groups, and sensing and navigation. Since subterranean features provide protection from surface hazards, low-cost electronics may be used to reduce mission costs. The multi-robot system provides:

Parallelized exploration of large spaces or tunnel networks
Autonomous task generation
Autonomous reconfiguration of robot team to achieve a particular task
Single robot failure does not result in end of mission

POTENTIAL NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS

This program will develop technologies and capabilities that will lead to fully autonomous cooperative multi-robot systems for exploration of large rough terrain. The multi-robot team extends data gathering and mapping capability for future missions through heterogeneous capabilities and adaptive task planning. Configurations will enable optimized multi-robot application in unknown rough terrain.

The specific development is a platform developed around a concept mission to explore a lunar lava tube through entering a skylight. The platform developed will be broadly applicable to similar explorations of rough and/or subsurface planetary environments, including caves, craters, cliffs, or rock fields. Additionally, low-cost robotic team members are configured to exploit operation only in the shelter of subsurface environments without the stringent requirements for survival of radiation and thermal variations at the surface; this is applicable as a strategy to reduce the cost of multi-robot mission implementations.

POTENTIAL NON-NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS

Multi-robot operations for mapping in a subsurface void are broadly applicable to numerous terrestrial applications. Potential applications are summarized below:

Following or during a natural disaster such as an earthquake or flood, multiple robot teams can be deployed to assess and respond to the situation. Sub-teams of agents perform various categories of tasks such as monitoring, inspection, search and rescue, excavation, evacuation, and distribution of aid.

In mining, activities such as cutting coal, creating roof supports, and transporting coal may take place simultaneously in various locations in a mine and be performed by a combination of humans and machines (including robots). The machines responsible for each of these activities must be efficiently coordinated.

In construction, activities such as excavation, earth-moving, transportation of building materials, and assembly take place simultaneously at different locations on the construction site. Again, the machines responsible for each of the activities must be efficiently coordinated.

Estimated Technology Readiness Level (TRL) at beginning and end of contract:

Begin: 2
End: 3