Robotics & Automation Finalist - AstroAnt: A Miniature Symbiotic Robotic Serving on the Outside Surfaces of Spacecraft, Rovers, and Landers for Inspection and Diagnostic Tasks

“AstroAnts” are small robots for inspection and diagnostic tasks on external spacecraft surfaces, both in orbit and on planetary surfaces. They're also the Robotics & Automation Finalist. Read on to learn more.

NASA’s Network of Small Moon-Bound Rovers Is Ready to Roll

A trio of small rovers that will explore the Moon in sync with one another are rolling toward launch. NASA JPL’s CADRE rovers will soon map the lunar surface together as a tech demo to show the promise of multirobot missions.

Light-Based Tech to Navigate the Moon

RMIT University’s Arnan Mitchell and University of Adelaide’s Dr. Andy Boes led an international team to review lithium niobate’s capabilities and potential applications in the journal Science. The team is working to make navigation systems that help rovers drive on the Moon — where GPS is unable to work — later this decade.

Designing Optics for Lunar Rovers, Satellites and Other Space-Based Applications

The year 2024 will be full of new satellite manufacturing, launches and operations, with major players like Amazon expected to start full-scale deployment of Project Kuiper and strong demand for low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites driving development and launches from the likes of SpaceX and Telesat among others.

Getting NASA Data to the Ground with Lasers

The Laser Communications Relay Demonstration (LCRD) will usher in a new era of laser communications.

Mars: Past, Present, Future

Since the dawn of the space race, the idea of sending humans to Mars has been the subject of aerospace engineering and scientific studies. From the successful flyby of NASA’s Mariner 4 in 1964 to the Perseverance rover in 2020, the missions to Mars have come a long way.

Earthly Twin Offers Test Bed for NASA’s Perseverance Mars Rover

OPTIMISM, the full-scale engineering model of Perseverance, is helping NASA assess the risk of potential driving hazards on Mars.

Bipedal Robot Achieves Better Body Balance

A new robot developed by Caltech researchers LEO carves out a new type of locomotion somewhere between walking and flying.

Approach Makes Unmanned Agents Self-Sufficient

UAVs can land on moving unmanned ground vehicles without GPS.

Rad-Hard Avionics for Moon Rover

A mobile robot will go to the South Pole of the Moon — with help from radiation-hardened avionics.

Four-Legged Swarm Robots

The multi-legged robots are capable of maneuvering in challenging environments.

Component Helps Perseverance Sample Mars

Ewellix (Gothenburg, Sweden) has developed a planetary roller screw that's now on Mars.

Perseverance on Mars: The Journey Begins

Perseverance is the first leg of a round trip to Mars.

Multipurpose Batteries Make it Easier to Get Around on Mars

NASA-funded research by Clemson University scientists could lead to the creation of lighter, faster-charging batteries suitable for powering a spacesuit or even a Mars rover.

Force/Torque Sensor Helps Rover Sample Mars

See how one company reached out to NASA with an offer to develop a custom sensor for the Mars 2020 mission rover.

Planetary Exploration Rover Avoids Sand Traps with “Rear Rotator Pedaling”

Complex locomotion techniques enable the rover to climb hills covered with soft granular material.

Mars 2020 – Building Perseverance

Tech Briefs spoke with NASA’s Keith Comeaux, Deputy Project Chief Engineer, to learn more about the helicopter heading to Mars.

Mars 2020 – Getting to Mars

Perseverance will have the ability to land in more challenging terrain than Curiosity, making more rugged sites eligible as safe landing candidates.

Carbon Nanotube/Polymer Composites with Electrical and Thermal Characteristics

These composites could improve how unmanned vehicles dissipate energy.

Mars 2020 – Perseverance to the Red Planet

Read our special series on the Mars 2020 mission, featuring interviews with NASA experts and designers of the Perseverance rover.

Robot Performs Complex Maneuvers

An upgraded mini robot can leap over obstacles with ease.

Selecting Electric Traction Solutions for AGVs and Mobile Robots

Smarter, better, faster, less expensive — those words are the mantra of today’s global economy. As organizations seek to streamline operations and do more with less, they...

Walking Robot Moves Without GPS

Ants are able to use polarized light and ultraviolet radiation to locate themselves in space. AntBot mimics this ability to explore its environment randomly and go home automatically, without GPS or mapping.

Technique Allows Mobile Robots to Navigate Autonomously

A technique was developed to quickly teach robots novel traversal behaviors with minimal human oversight. The technique allows mobile robot platforms to navigate autonomously in...

Coating Erosion Tests Help Keep Mars 2020 Rover Safe

Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL)Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, OHwww.wpafb.af.mil/afrl Mars rovers are sophisticated, multi-instrumented pieces of equipment that travel over the surface...

Autonomous Crop-Counting Robot

Today's crop breeders are trying to boost yields while preparing plants to withstand severe weather and changing climates. To succeed, they must locate the genes for high-yielding, hardy traits in crop plants’...

Crab Crawl Maneuver for Independently Steerable Wheeled Platforms

An industrial-class excavator was developed for use on the Moon and perhaps on Mars. The model mobility platform uses Ackerman Steering with active drives on all six wheels,...

Precision Coffeemaker Adapts Brews to Beans and Taste

Technology often takes circuitous paths. A magnetron developed for precision bombing during World War II led to the microwave oven, and a battery-powered drill created for collecting samples...