“Space, The Final Frontier”. Imagine exploring the universe in a massive spaceship,  looking for new planets and life just like in the Star Trek series. Discovering new parts of the galaxy where no man has gone before. That is the vision that humanity today is trying to make a reality. Advancements in technology has progress so far that humans are given the ability to travel throughout the universe. In these newly discovered areas, the dark unknown will soon be shed with light revealing new forms of life and resources. This astonishing task can be reached with the help of robotics. The benefits of this goal is not only to find new resources and life but to push forward in humanities technological development. There will be technological innovations that may not work out in space but they can be used back in Earth. The space race is a perfect example with the introduction of satellite TV and artificial limbs. Focus on robotic development is important as it sets a goal of improving technology.

The article, “Space development and space science together, an historic opportunity” discusses solving earths economic and environmental problems by creating space programs. With the advancements of robotics and artificial intelligence projects like creating lunar outpost

will become a reality. Teleoperated robots are robots that could be controlled from a distance. Humans do not have to physically build in space, but they can control robots that can do all the building for them. Although it is possible to create a  lunar outpost, the mission will take decades to complete. Robot enabled space exploration will spawn new technology, solve limited resources and create clean energy. Nuclear fusion and terrestrial renewable resources are some of the solutions that came from the development of the space program. One important task that will help in future space developments is establishing a water economy. Water is one of the most essential resources for survival. By establishing a source of water scientist are preparing for humans to live in space.

The advancements in technology today has allowed humans to send robots to space. However, are robots really the best choice for space exploration? One issue that Metzger presented is, “robots are not sufficiently advanced for troubleshooting and repairing other robots”(Metzger). If a robot breaks down in space, repairs will be impossible since there are no humans nearby. Also, developing robots to analyze the damage and repair is far too advance at this time. This will delay progress in gathering information for space exploration. Metzger states, “operations at the manufacturing site may be stopped until a replacement robot is sent from Earth” (Metzger). Space robotics is fairly new and very risky. There will be many failures in the future until it is perfected. Halting operation will impact cost and time just by planning a new mission. Space robots are very expensive costing at least millions or maybe billions of dollars. Is it really smart to send robots instead of astronauts?

President John F. Kennedy said that a man will set foot on the Moon. This goal was later achieved in the space race. Humanities next step is to reach farther out into space and send a man to Mars. “FCJ-205 Life and Labour of Rovers on Mars: Toward Post-Terrestrial Futures of Creative Robotics” talks about sending robots explore the planet Mars. With the objective on gathering information on Mars, they are equipped with instruments for “imaging, sensing, measuring, data processing, communication and navigation.”(Damjanov). One of the rovers named Curiosity wakes up at 5am and begins exploring the dangerous terrain of the the planet. It uses its instruments to collect data and return it back to Earth. One way it gathers this information is with the use of its robotic arm and collects rock samples. The rock is then vaporizes into a fine powder and examines its material composition. According to the article rovers are “simultaneously geologists, geochemists, biologists, climatologists, meteorologists, data analysts” (Damjanov). If humans were to be sent to explore Mars there would have to be a team of specialist. However, with the instruments equipped on the rover they are a jack of all trades. Rovers are built to explore Mars until they can no longer function. Humans require basic necessities such as food, shelter and water. They are unable to stay in an unknown environment for prolonged period of time. Rovers repeat the cycle of exploring until they run out of battery, recharge and then continue exploring. If rovers has an estimated life cycle how do we prolong it?

Terrain on planets like Mars are very hostile making it difficult for robots to explore the environment. Rocks are especially dangerous since they can puncture holes in wheels of the rovers. “Space Robotics: Part 3: Robotic Rovers for Planetary Exploration” introduces instruments robots are equipped with to avoid damage. Sensors is an example of an instrument that can help robots maneuver around dangerous. The article states, “primary goal for a planetary rover is to navigate in an unknown, hostile terrain, recognise and negotiate obstacles”(Ellery). It is important to scout out an area before sending humans to this planet. To go into the unknown with no knowledge of the environment or living organisms is suicide. This the job of rovers, to collect samples and return information for scientist to analyze. Soon there will be enough information to allow humans to safely travel to Mars.

SPARTAN is a project on creating autonomous robots to explore Mars.  They plan on revolutionizing space robotics through their new innovations. “SPARTAN: Developing a Vision System for Future Autonomous Space Exploration Robots” describes new instruments for path finding. One of the most fascinating instruments this robot is equipped with is landmark detection technology. As stated in the article, “deals with the detection of interest points in images obtained by the localization stereo camera” (Kostavelis). Through landmark detection the robot is able to trace the location of the image. Scientist can send an image to the robot and it will be able to locate and travel to where the image was taken. The article also states “The future space exploration rovers need to cover longer distances during their operation” (Kostavelis). Traveling for longer distances will get information twice as fast as regular robots. Not only do they need need to travel long distances but they need to have a high life expectancy.

The article writes, “a path‐planning technique capable of guiding the rover accurately and safely, avoiding obstacles” (Kostavelis). Due to dangerous conditions on planets like Mars robots tend to decay faster. Mars has very rocky terrain which can puncture holes in the robots wheel. Path planning technique is very important to prolong the life expectancy on these robots. Robots should be spend as much time as possible moving around the planet to gather information.

European Space Agency has created a robot that can be controlled from a space station. Features of this robot are similar to the previous article by Kostavelis. It is equipped with autonomous navigation which means it can navigate without the help of humans. Just like the SPARTAN robot, the path planning technology will help increase their survivability in harsh climates. Rocky terrain will no longer become a challenge as it can maneuver around these obstacles. The YouTube channel European Space Agency, ESA posted a video called “Horizons science – robotics” showing the different abilities of this robot. When commanding the robot to go to a location, specific directions are not needed since it already knows how to navigate the terrain. According to the video the drone is sent outside to “see how the conditions are like, whether it’s safe and what the atmospheric parameters are”(ESA). It is very important to send out a scout to see what the environment looks like before exiting the spacecraft. The drone is also equipped with two robot arms which allows it to complete task. It can be commanded to collect a rock outside or it can be asked to check out a solar panel. The video states “ Mars can be as far away as 20 minutes of light speed travel time” (ESA). Well, what do they mean by 20 minutes of light speed travel time?  Since Mars is 20 minutes of light speed from Earth then there will be a 20 minute delay when sending messages or signals. Controlling a drone from a space station is really important because it reduces delay when sending commands to the drone.

There needs to be a quick response time as anything can happen within 20 minutes. Space stations reduce this time by more than half giving them the ability to send accurate commands to gather information.

A new type of robot was introduced in the YouTube Video called “Why Astronauts Need Robots In Space”. According to the video “Robonaut can do jobs that are either dirty for humans, or dangerous, or even just dull or repetitive.”(Seeker). Robonaut is not built to be a replacement for humans but to assist them in space exploration. There are some aspects humans perform better than robots. For example in the video, “humans are much more capable of space exploration work than robots” (Seeker). However, that doesn’t mean that space exploration should be reliant on either humans or robots but, they should cooperate with each other. The  way that they can cooperate is due to the design of Robonaut. It is unlike any other robot used for space exploration. Robots are commonly seen as rovers with wheels and a mechanical arm but, Robonaut has a more humanoid design. As stated in the video, “The human element of the Robonaut makes it more capable of working in the same workspace of people.”(Seeker). This is important as it gives Robonaut flexibility for task. Compared to other robots they are designed to specialize in one role. However, Robonaut is able to work with the same tools as humans, allowing them to work side by side. Also a benefit to this humanoid design is it can work in the same indoor environments as humans. Specialized robots are larger and more suited for outdoor environments due to all the instruments equipped onto them. Whereas with the humanoid design they are similar to the shape of a normal astronaut. Less energy is spent worrying about maneuverability and more energy focusing on the task at hand.

The vast majority of robots that were introduced were mainly explorer robots or assistant robots. However, a project called Archinaut is using robots to manufacture parts and assemble spacecraft in space. The video on YouTube called “Archinaut: In-space Robotics” explains the process of robotic assembly lines. The goal is to become self sufficient in space, no longer requiring to return back to earth. A 3D printing assembly line is still experimental and challenges may occur in space. According to the YouTube video, “Archinaut will have to adapt to anything unforeseen and take care on its own.” (Made in Space). This is really important especially in space since humans won’t be around majority of the time to monitor manufacturing. On Earth materials aren’t able to float around assembly lines. However, in space there is a chance that materials can get lost. This is where the adaptability of the robot comes in to make small changes each time. An assembly line will help create structures such as outpost, spacecraft or anything that has a blueprint. A benefit to Archinaut as stated in the video is “It can work nonstop” (Made in Space). As long as the assembly line has material to build it will help progress space exploration. There will no longer be a need to go back to earth for parts when there is an assembly line in space.

The future is here and it’s time to expand out into space. Pollution is slowly consuming the Earth and resources are being diminished. Space exploration is really important to find new ways to solve these issues. The focus on space robotics will help accelerate humanities technological advancements. Sending robots to vast planets to explore will speed up the search for habitable planets or new resources. Plans on creating lunar outpost will help establish a water economy. Finding a new source of water will lessen worries of running out of freshwater on Earth. Humans also don’t have to worry about building a outpost physically with the introduction of the Archinaut project. There scientist might find a way to create renewable energy. Archinaut can build solar panels and renewable energy can be sent to Earth. Space exploration has progress so rapidly over the past decade. It won’t be long until humans may finally explore planets and eventually colonize them.