Scalability Analysis of Legged Robots for Space Exploration

Abstract

Until now, planetary exploration has largely been done by wheeled ground vehicles, which show limited mobility when it comes to unstructured terrain and sloped areas. Besides challenging surface conditions, the environment of low-gravity celestial bodies involve a unique set of unknowns, which an exploration robot has to handle. In order to overcome limitations of existing vehicles, research groups around the globe have started to exploit the possibility of applying legged systems for space exploration. However, these systems have not yet been able to take the full potential of the technology, considering the rapid development that can be observed in terrestrial legged locomotion over the last decade. The current generation of legged robots uses advanced actuation and new control algorithms allowing them to dynamically traverse and interact with complex environments. They feature locomotion skills that potentially revolutionises the way robots move in low-gravity environments. This paper analyses the use of legged robots for space exploration. We compare the underlying technologies of legged robots to existing space hardware to identify technology gaps and propose locomotion gaits for celestial bodies.