How Mars Robotic Exploration Could Advance in Robotics Technology in the 2020s

How Mars Robotic Exploration Could Advance in Robotics Technology in the 2020s

By Kayla Matthews

Money is often the primary motivator for technological advancement. Much of the software currently in development and the networks that make them possible are for use by large corporations. Everything from 5G to cloud sharing was initially designed to assist professionals, with the ultimate goal of increasing profit.

The point is, people often need a reason to create something, and those reasons aren’t often boredom or curiosity. The field of robotics, for instance, has taken a lot of inspiration from space-faring robots. The technology was intended for crucial, expensive experimentation, surviving in the harshest climates known to mankind. There was no better source for inspiration for today’s engineers.

Past explorations of the planet Mars were not always successful, however. The robots that have traveled there have gotten better over time, some of them with the capacity to perform several experiments at once. If engineers are able to accomplish something so incredible on another planet, they could likely do even better on Earth.

The Future Mars Missions

Many of today’s space projects are contending with insufficient funding and limited time. However, there are two upcoming Mars missions that deserve attention: ExoMars and Marsbees.

ExoMars will commence in 2020, headed by the European Space Agency, or ESA. The 2020 Exomars mission involves another rover, but this particular expedition is far more in-depth than those that came before it. The ExoMars rover will travel several kilometers and drill through the surface of Mars for evidence of life. This rover will be the first-ever to travel such a far distance and examine the planet to that degree.

As for the mission itself, the rover is going to drill in several sites down a maximum of two meters. An infrared spectrometer will list the mineralogy found in the hole. After the rover delivers the sample to the analytical laboratory, it’ll continue to evaluate the material’s chemical properties. All of this technology is on a single robot that will travel for several kilometers, as well. It’s clear that the functionality of this one robot could lead to far more discoveries on Earth, assisting in archaeology and even underwater exploration.

Marsbees, unfortunately, won’t be a reality on Mars for some time yet. However, the very idea has enough merit to propel the world of robotics forward by several few years. The whole concept of Marsbees is there in the name. Researchers from the University of Alabama and Tokyo University of Science have gained $125,000 to put robotic bees on Mars.

Armed with artificial intelligence, these miniature robots will function with the same flight mechanics as an average bumblebee, a flight technique that researchers think will work in Mars’ low atmosphere. The bees, sent to Mars via a rover, would fly across the planet to reach areas that rovers never could.

The project is at least a decade from completion, but they’ve already built a hummingbird-type robot that flies here on Earth, advancing the field of robotics by a considerable degree.

Challenges

For a robot to work on a completely different planet, everything has to be as precise and perfect as possible. Since the robots are electronic, engineers have to run a variety of tests to make sure their designs will function at all in such a foreign environment, devoid of any electronics at all beyond those already sent. To do this, engineers have to measure EMC to ensure the device can operate on the harsh surface of Mars.

Electromagnetic interference, or EMI, is the electromagnetic energy that affects other devices. EMI can come from natural weather phenomena like an electrical storm or even another device like a cellphone. Most electronics are made to work with EMI because they are often not in isolation like a Mars rover would be.

On the other hand, electromagnetic compatibility, or EMC, is the device’s ability to work as intended in any environment. This is done by measuring EMI from the device and ensuring everything still operates. Understanding and preparing for these nuances is crucial to the mission’s success.

The MREP

The Mars Robotic Exploration Preparation Programme, or MREP, is a direction from ESA’s Directorate of Science and Robotic Exploration intended to help Europe contribute to Mars exploration. I

n collaboration with NASA and other partners, ESA wants to continue work and exploration after the ExoMars mission concludes. The ESA’s goal is to retrieve samples from Mars to test back on Earth, creating new kinds of technology to achieve this impressive ambition.

The Mars Sample Return, or MSR mission, is going to be a huge undertaking for all of the agencies involved. Not only does the ESA not currently have soft-landing probes, but the probes will also have to retrieve the samples and take off again to dock with another piece of technology staying in Mars’ orbit.

It’s similar to how the Apollo missions landed on the Moon. This technology will include better solar cell performance for low sunlight or even replacing solar cells completely, something the technology on Earth could benefit from.

An Investment in the Future

America first put a man on the Moon in 1969 with Apollo 11. Years later, in 1997, NASA put a fully working rover on Mars with Sojourner and Pathfinder. Robotics has changed a lot since the late 90s, not to mention the late 60s. While setbacks like war and a fluctuating economy have made the country’s progress move in fits and starts, it has continued to move forward at an incredibly fast pace where technology is concerned.

The simple fact that computers have become so small as compared to the entire rooms they used to encompass has represented an amazing leap in robotic technology. Space exploration is a significant motivator to create better technology, allowing those citizens who remain on Earth to reap a lot of the benefits from the innovative researchers, scientists and engineers working with NASA and similar agencies.

In truth, “What goes around comes around.” It’s a fitting saying for the current state of robotics technology. An investment in missions like ExoMars and Marsbees is also an investment in the future of mankind.

Kayla Matthews is a researcher, writer and blogger covering topics related to technology, smart gadgets, the future of work and personal productivity. She is the owner and editor of ProductivityTheory.com and ProductivityBytes.com.

More information about Irish Tech News and the Business Showcase

FYI the ROI for you is => Irish Tech News now get over 1.5 million monthly views, and up to 900k monthly unique visitors, from over 160 countries. We have over 860,000 relevant followers on Twitter on our various accounts & were recently described as Ireland’s leading online tech news site and Ireland’s answer to TechCrunch, so we can offer you a good audience!

Since introducing desktop notifications a short time ago, which notify readers directly in their browser of new articles being published, over 16000 people have now signed up to receive them ensuring they are instantly kept up to date on all our latest content. Desktop notifications offer a unique method of serving content directly to verified readers and bypass the issue of content getting lost in people’s crowded news feeds.

Drop us a line if you want to be featured, guest post, suggest a possible interview, or just let us know what you would like to see more of in our future articles. We’re always open to new and interesting suggestions for informative and different articles. Contact us, by email, twitter or whatever social media works for you and hopefully we can share your story too and reach our global audience.

If you would like to have your company featured in the Irish Tech News Business Showcase, get in contact with us at Simon@IrishTechNews.ie or on Twitter: @SimonCocking