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T he extent to which rockets and satellites constitute true unmanned vehicles is debatable. Rockets are highly automated and command-driven, but they are very limited in how goal-oriented and genuinely autonomous they are. Satellites meanwhile rarely carry propulsion systems beyond those for minimal reactive control, and therefore might not be considered actual vehicles. While space systems may have been limited to rockets and satellites in the past, however, the range of autonomous craft being conceived and developed these days has expanded to encompass a broad number of ground rover vehicles and aquatic systems, as well as spaceplanes and other new variants of aircraft. Similar in nature to the countless unmanned systems operating on Earth, these vehicles are now set to make their mark elsewhere in the Solar System, in a variety of missions aimed at advancing humankind’s understanding of outer space. In orbit To date, the Boeing X-37B spaceplane has completed five orbital missions, for a combined 2865-or-so days in space. Its sixth flight was earlier this year (using an Atlas V rocket as its launch system), and details of its payload have been disclosed for the first time. One of those was to trial microwave beam technology for remotely transmitting solar energy to Earth. The Photovoltaic Radiofrequency Antenna Module Flight Experiment (PRAM-FX) Rory Jackson looks at some of the autonomous systems being developed to improve our knowledge of the Solar System Mission self-control A model of NASA’s Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover at the Glenn Research Center (Courtesy of NASA and Bridget Caswell, Alcyon Technical Services) 46 October/November 2020 | Unmanned Systems Technology