Updated: September 14, 2024

In the space community, any unmanned spacecraft can be called a robotic spacecraft. However, space robots are considered to be more capable devices that can facilitate manipulation, assembling, or servicing functions in orbit as assistants to astronauts, or to extend the areas and abilities of exploration on remote planets as surrogates for human explorers.

In this chapter, a concise digest of the historical overview and technical advances of two distinct types of space robotic systems, orbital robots and surface robots, is provided. In particular, describes orbital robots, and Sect. 45.2 describes surface robots. In Sect. 45.3, the mathematical modeling of the dynamics and control using reference equations are discussed. Finally, advanced topics for future space exploration missions.

Key issues in space robots and systems are characterized as follows. Manipulation Although manipulation is a basic technology in robotics, microgravity in the orbital environment requires special attention to the motion dynamics of manipulator arms and objects being handled. Reaction dynamics that affect the base body, impact dynamics when the robotic hand contacts an object to be handled, and vibration dynamics due to structural flexibility are included in this issue. Mobility The ability to locomote is particularly important in exploration robots ( rovers ) that travel on the surface of a remote planet. These surfaces are natural and rough, and thus challenging to traverse. Sensing and perception, traction mechanics, and vehicle dynamics, control, and navigation are all mobile robotics technologies that must be demonstrated in a natural untouched environment. Teleoperation and autonomy There is a significant time delay between a robotic system at a work site and a human operator in an operation room on the Earth. In earlier orbital robotics demonstrations, the latency was typically 5 s, but can be several tens of minutes, or even hours for planetary missions. Telerobotics technology is therefore an indispensable ingredient in space robotics, and the introduction of autonomy is a reasonable consequence. Extreme environments In addition to the microgravity environment that affects the manipulator dynamics or the natural and rough terrain that affects surface mobility, there are a number of issues related to extreme space environments that are challenging and must be solved in order to enable practical engineering applications. Such issues include extremely high or low temperatures, high vacuum or high pressure, corrosive atmospheres, ionizing radiation, and very fine dust.