Future of Robotics in Space Exploration
By: Dhruvil Shah
Tags: Robots, NASA, Robotics, Space, Space Exploration

Robotics in Space Exploration

Author: Dhruvil Shah (BTech Integrated, MPSTME, NMIMS)

Under the guidance of Seema Shah

Introduction:

Bill Gerstenmaier, Associate Administrator of Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate of NASA Headquarters in Washington DC, in an interview said, “Man will play an important role in expanding human presence deeper into the solar system”. Also Rob Ambrose of NASA’s Software Robotics mentioned the International Space Station as the best robotics laboratory in the solar system. The International Space Station provides a unique platform for advanced robotics projects that will open door to a future of enhanced human-robot collaboration in exploration.

Advancement in Space Technology

Robots and human together in space might not sound real but it is very true and possible very soon. NASA has created a spinoff software which teaches machines how to act, react, sense and learn. But in 1997, Jonson Space Center and Defense Advanced Research projects Agency (DARPA) made it possible by building the humanoid Robonaut 1, which slowly paved its way into this benefitting the industry with space exploration.

Robonaut needed to become productive so it started doing what tools could be used it and it stated to service space flight hardware. Then, majority of research was focused on mobile robots which could assist astronauts in solving various problems. But at that time, artificial intelligence was lacking that would enable robots to respond to unexpected changes in their surrounding environment but with time the problem was solved because, otherwise the Robonaut and future robots would not be able to accept command and become useless.

Ever since the Apollo program in 1969, humans have made a great progress with respect to space exploration. The Apollo program was the program by NASA when the humans landed on the lunar surface for the first time. But with developing technology, the space exploration can be made easier with the development in the field of robotics.

We just don’t know how much protection Earth can ever get from Jupiter, since the gravity of Jupiter pulls any heavenly bodies like asteroid or meteorite away from Earth. Or how long before us humans deplete the natural resource and we need to find a new planet. But nothing is impossible with space exploration and that too with the help of robotics which can help us in a far better way and reducing risk of human life.

Future Space Technology with Robots:

Robots and human together in space might not sound real but it is very true and possible very soon. NASA has created a spinoff software which teaches machines how to act, react, sense and learn. But in 1997, Jonson Space Center and Defense Advanced Research projects Agency (DARPA) made it possible by building the humanoid Robonaut 1, which slowly paved its way into this benefitting the industry with space exploration.

Space exploration means travelling into outer space to know about different spacial objects like planetary planets and other systems, different galaxies, exploring any unusual anomaly if any exists and many others. All this can be made easy using robots. For space exploration we need a spaceship which requires a pilot. So if the spaceship is travelling through the asteroid belt or something, we may hesitate where we might not be able to judge the way out of it and we may crash. But that won’t happen if the pilot would be a robot, it can quickly calculate the way out saving human lives. Also exploring the solar system planets and their moons is not easy. We might not know the geography and other factors of that planet or moon. So, exploring it would be a risk if there are very powerful storms, or heat or cold in which the humans can’t survive. So if the robots are made of denser alloy materials they can survive extreme heat and cold. In case of any emergencies, the robots can medically help before the situation might get worse. Also the robots can have scanner where they can be used to scan any unidentified or unknown object in space. Also with biomechanics, the robots will be able to learn human behavior and self-learn further, so humans might also not feel alone for a single person in space and might also get a good company

The space organizations like ISRO and NASA are also sending land rovers and rotorcraft landers to explore nearby planets of our solar system. Recently, NASA has done partnership with three US companies for advancing technologies and sending cargo payloads to the lunar surface. There might also be a possibility of setting up a small base on the lunar surface for future space exploration. NASA is also going to launch a rotorcraft lander named Dragonfly on the Saturn’s moon, Titan which will arrive in 2034. The Dragonfly will be testing samples, organic surface material composition to check the habitability of the Titan’s environment and investigate the progression of prebiotic chemistry.

Considering the present, the space exploration using robotics will expand on a large scale with the next ten years or so. So let’s hope our planet lives longer and also we might get a chance to space travel. It is also possible that in next fifty we might even be able to interstellar travel to other galaxies.