Robots assist inflatable module setup and upkeep for moon bases
Robot-Assisted Deployment and Maintenance of Inflatable Modules for Lunar Habitation: A Field Demonstration
Robotics
Summary
Living on the Moon needs special homes that can be built and kept safe. The authors worked on a system where robots help unpack, position, and check these inflatable homes. They tested their robot, called MoonBot, with inflatable living units named HIDAS, making sure they can inspect and fix the homes after setup. They tried this both indoors and in places on Earth that are like the Moon. Their experiences help understand how robots can support future Moon habitats.
What this means in practice
- •For space mission engineers: Use modular robots to deploy and maintain inflatable habitats on the Moon to support long-term missions.
- •For robotics field testers: Conduct real-world tests of robotic inspection and maintenance on complex inflatable structures in analogue environments.
Authors
Kentaro Uno, Shamistan Karimov, Ashutosh Mishra, Elian Neppel, Hazal Gozbasi, Shreya Santra, Shinichi Kimura, Kazuya Yoshida
Abstract
Long-term human habitation and in-situ development on the Moon open a new era of space utilization. In this context, robots are a key technology for facilitating the construction of future human outposts. Toward the deployment and establishment of human habitation modules on the lunar surface, we propose a combined system consisting of inflatable modules and a modular, reconfigurable robotic system. This paper presents a report demonstrating various robot-assisted task executions using real hardware, namely the modular and reconfigurable robot MoonBot and the inflatable module HIDAS, to enhance the reliability of their deployment and maintenance. The demonstrated tasks include robotic inspection during inflation, module position alignment, final safety locking, and three-dimensional mapping for post-deployment maintenance. All demonstrations were conducted either in a laboratory environment or at a lunar analogue test site. Finally, lessons learned are discussed to provide essential insights for this robotic application to future lunar habitation.