SHAPING THE FUTURE OF SPACE ROBOTICS. FROM ORBITAL DEBRIS TO EXPLORING DISTANT WORLDS

Marilena Amoroso, capo Settore Esplorazione Umana e Robotica, ASI-Agenzia Spaziale Italiana

Gianfranco Visentin, responsabile Sezione Automazione e Robotica, ESA-European Space Agency, ESTEC-European Space Research and Technology Centre

Armin Wedler, responsabile team Esplorazione Planetaria Istituto di Robotica e Meccatronica DLR-Deutsches Zentrum für Luft und Raumfahrt

Stefano Seriani, docente di Meccanica Applicata e Robotica Università di Trieste

From reaching orbit to exploring the Moon, Mars and beyond, “space is hard” is a refrain often heard by those pushing humanity’s limits. Robots, guided by engineers and scientists, have long supported astronauts in tackling these immense challenges. We will discuss key aspects of robotic space exploration: In Situ Resource Utilization, in-orbit assembly, multi-agent exploration, and more. We’ll look at progress toward the Moon and Mars, space debris risks, in-orbit manufacturing, and what the future holds in space for Europe and the world.