Planetary robots
The European Space Agency has commissioned Milrem Robotics to develop projects for lunar rovers and rovers with a hitherto unprecedented level of autonomy. As indicated in the ESA roadmap, the agency needs an automatic management system for long-duration lunar missions. Milrem Robotics military robots have been selected as the most promising platform for creating such machines.
There is one weighty factor in common between the modern battlefield and the surface of another cosmic body – a living person is not going to appear there. This means that the machine needs to be able not only to make decisions independently and control their execution, but also to learn how to adapt to changing conditions. In particular, not only to try to complete the task in the best way, but also to realize that sometimes it is more profitable to retreat and return when the situation becomes more favorable.
The announced lunar automatic base will have to collect data from sensors, satellites, the lunar rovers themselves, and, if necessary, conduct additional reconnaissance in order to assess the situation as a whole. It is tasked with planning lunar rover missions taking into account all factors without human control. It will remain, but when the length of flights begins to be measured in hundreds of kilometers, because of the duration of the signal transmission, it is better to entrust control to a local system.
As an example, we can cite the project of the "European large logistics lander", the basic mission of which is to collect samples and send them to Earth. After that, the device will be placed at the disposal of another team and will begin to make research expeditions up to 300 km long on Earth. It is assumed that such a complex can be created within the next 20 years.
