Space Robotics: An Overview of Challenges, Applications and Technologies

Abstract

While space exploration may be considered anything but dull, it certainly is very dangerous. Expanding our knowledge on the solar system to look for clues to such fundamental questions as the origins of life, or a sustained human presence on anything other than earth may well be worth the risk. The involved costs for mitigating the risk of human space flight are prohibitive. Robotic missions, like the hugely successful Mars Exploration Rovers, have shown that robotics as a sub-field of Artificial Intelligence can perform scientific exploration activities without human presence, and will play an even more prominent role in future mission scenarios. Worldwide technology research efforts are continuously expanding the capabilities of mobile robotic systems. This article provides an overview of the special conditions and examples of technological solutions for the development of space robots, as well as different fields of application.