Issue 40 Unmanned Systems Technology October/November 2021 ANYbotics ANYmal D l AI systems focus l Aquatic Drones Phoenix 5 l Space vehicles insight l Sky Eye Rapier X-25 l FlyingBasket FB3 l GCS focus l AUVSI Xponential 2021

56 After a successful collision, changes in the orbital period of the moonlet will be measured and analysed using telescopes on Earth, with the resultant data being used to inform future kinetic impactor technologies and methods. The Moon Unmanned lunar projects are now going beyond mere exploration and scientific research, with some near-term missions being aimed at developing permanent infrastructure on the Moon. A prime example of this is a joint venture between Nokia, Lunar Outpost and Intuitive Machines, with a mission due to launch later next year. The companies are aiming to set up and test a cellular comms network on the lunar surface, future expansion of which will be key to running a productive autonomous economy on the Moon and in geostationary orbit. Intuitive Machines’ Nova-C lander will ferry the key technologies for the operation to the lunar south pole. The first of these will be a Nokia 4G/LTE payload, which will effectively make the lander a wireless comms network hub, enabling low-latency data links across much of the Moon, and enabling easier comms from the Moon to the Earth. The Nova-C will then deploy the M1 Mobile Autonomous Prospecting Platform (MAPP) rover produced by Lunar Outpost. This UGV will also be equipped with Nokia 4G/LTE equipment and antennas. The MAPP will drive off the lander and traverse the lunar environment for 12 days, all the while monitoring and recording data on the performance and capabilities of Nokia’s lunar comms system. As well as carrying Nokia’s radios and antennas, the MAPP is expected to carry additional payloads within its 5 kg capacity. The UGV is a four-wheeled 10 kg system measuring 45 x 40 x 38 cm and powered by solar arrays on its left, right and top sides. While the MAPP resembles most of the other rovers developed in recent years, many of the newest ones are departing from the conventional four-wheel design, for manoeuvrability advantages. For example, Japan-based Dymon has developed the Yaoki, a 15 x 15 x 9.9 cm rover weighing 498 g. This low weight is a key consideration – the company estimates that sending any equipment or material to the Moon costs on average $1.2 m per kg, so it has sought to make the Yaoki the lightest and smallest rover to reach the lunar surface. Part of its low weight is owed to its traction: it moves around on just two hemispheric wheels, one on either side of its body. This design resembles many of the throwable-type UGVs developed for police and cave exploration work on Earth, and indeed the robot can survive impacts of up to 100 g . This will enable it to withstand practically any fall in craters or caves under the Moon’s low gravity, and explore features believed to have been formed by volcanic activity. These could be ideal locations for building sustainable human habitats, as they are shielded from harmful radiation. The first Yaoki will arrive on the Moon early next year, as a passenger aboard US-based Astrobotic’s Peregrine Lander. Also along for the ride are scientific payloads from NASA, Mexico’s Agencia Espacial and another unusual rover from British space start-up Spacebit. Spacebit’s Asagumo robot departs even further from the mould of past Moon UGV designs by opting out of wheeled locomotion completely. Four electromechanical legs are used to walk in a spider-like fashion across uneven surfaces, while keeping the body and its suite of cameras and Lidars relatively stable. It will also be used for autonomously mapping the Moon’s (supposedly) volcanically formed crevices and tunnels to identify where valuable mineral resources could be found and extracted, and where permanently crewed bases could be formed. The Asagumo measures about 10 x 10 cm, and its battery is charged using a single solar array mounted flat on top of its body. Significant energy efficiency gains are anticipated by it being able to alter the gait of its legs to suit the terrain, and it has ‘feet’ reminiscent of snowshoes to prevent it from sinking into the lunar surface as it moves. October/November 2021 | Unmanned Systems Technology A 4G-LTE cellular network will be trialled on the Moon using Lunar Outpost’s MAPP rover (Courtesy of Lunar Outpost)