News

CoRob-X Second Review Meeting

On December 10th, CoRob-X was subject to a second technical review meeting. The EU Project Officer, an external expert, and members of the PERASPERA-X PSA were informed about the work done and progress achieved since the last review meeting in June 2021. Special focus was on the reports on the state-of-the-art in robotics for Space exploration and the results of a review of Critical Technologies, which specifically included the outcomes of the previous Operational Grants of the Strategic Research Cluster on „Space Robotics Technologies“.

The review meeting was a success. Both the PO and the external expert confirmed that the project is well on track and has achieved its objectives so far. However, it was clear to all participants of the meeting, that the coming months will be crucial for the success of the project. Not only are there significant technical challenges to be met to achieve the very ambitious objectives of the project, but also the unpredictable Corona pandemic could significantly slow down the cooperative R&D in CoRob-X and even jeopardize the Lunar Analogue Mission planned as final demonstration of the CoRob-X system. To be prepared for the worst, contingency plans and mitigation measures are already under preparation.     

Site Scouting on Lanzarote

From November 16 to November 21, 2021, a DFKI advance team flew to Lanzarote for a first on-site scouting of potential locations for the Lunar Analogue Mission. The team, consiting of the Project Coordinator and three DFKI colleagues visited several caves and lava tubes on Lanzarote to assess their suitability for the field tests planned in 2023. They were supported by Conny Spelbrink, a local tour operator and logistics expert from La Palma.

The team brought ASGUARD 4 to the island, a small scout rover similar to the Coyote rover that will be used as REU-2 in the final Lunar Analogue Mission. With this rover and the LIDAR sensor sitting on it’s back, the DFKI researchers could gather data for precise 3-D models of the caves. These models will be needed later to support the autonomous operation of REU-2 in the lava tube.

The site scouting revealed that, although there are many caves and even lava tubes on the island, finding a location that supports all four phases of the CoRob-X Lunar Analogue Mission is not trivial. Not only does the surface area around the lava-tube skylights have to be traversible by our rovers, the lava tube underneath has to be long enough but not too wide to support a meaningful exploration by REU-2, the small exploration rover. In addition, there are many constraints related to landownership, environmental regulations and other non-technical issues.

Nevertheless, the team could leave Lanzarote with the certainty that there are a number of promising sites on the island that are able to support the final Lunar Analogue Mission planned for early 2023.