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This paper aims to introduce an efficient active-simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) approach for rover navigation, future planetary rover exploration mission requires the rover to automatically localize itself with high accuracy.

A three-dimensional (3D) feature detection method is first proposed to extract salient features from the observed point cloud, after that, the salient features are employed as the candidate destinations for re-visiting under SLAM structure, followed by a path planning algorithm integrated with SLAM, wherein the path length and map utility are leveraged to reduce the growth rate of state estimation uncertainty.

The proposed approach is able to extract distinguishable 3D landmarks for feature re-visiting, and can be naturally integrated with any SLAM algorithms in an efficient manner to improve the navigation accuracy.

This paper proposes a novel active-SLAM structure for planetary rover exploration mission, the salient feature extraction method and active revisit patch planning method are validated to improve the accuracy of pose estimation.

On 13 July 1974, President Nixon signed a proclamation declaring the week of 20 July National Space Week, in honor of man's landing on the moon on 20 July 1969. Although the lunar landing was certainly the emotional high point for the American space program, interest in space remains quite high, as evidenced by the tremendous popularity of films and books on the subject. The intention of this article is to provide readers with a guide to materials that serve to focus attention on space exploration, not only during Space Week, but throughout the year.

This paper aims to provide a theoretical principle for the stability control of robot climbing stairs, autonomously based on human–robot interaction. Through this research, tracked mobile robots with human-robot interaction will be extensively used in rescue in disaster, exploration on planetary, fighting in battle, and searching for survivors in collapsed buildings.

This paper introduces the tracked mobile robot, based on human–robot interaction, and its six moving postures. The dynamic process of climbing stairs is analyzed, and the dynamic model of the robot is proposed. The dynamic stability criterion is derived when the tracked mobile robot contacts the stairs steps in one, two and more points. A further conduction of simulation on the relationship of the traction force and bearing force vs the velocity and acceleration in the three cases was carried out.

This paper explains that the tracked mobile robot, based on human–robot interaction, can stably climb stairs so long as the velocity and acceleration satisfy the dynamic stability criterion as noted above. In addition, the experiment tests the correctness of dynamic stability analysis when the tracked mobile robot contacts the stair steps in one, two or more points.

This paper provides the mechanical structure and working principle of the tracked mobile robot based on human–robot interaction and proposes an identification method of dynamic stability criterion when the robot contacts the stairs steps in one, two and more points.

To better understand contributing factors and mediating mechanisms related to team dynamics in isolated, confined, and extreme (ICE) environments.

Literature review.

Our primary focus is on cohesion and adaptation – two critical aspects of team performance in ICE environments that have received increased attention in both the literature and funding initiatives. We begin by describing the conditions that define ICE environments and review relevant individual biological, neuropsychiatric, and environmental factors that interact with team dynamics. We then outline a unifying team cohesion framework for long-duration missions and discuss several environmental, operational, organizational, and psychosocial factors that can impact team dynamics. Finally, we end with a discussion of directions for future research and countermeasure development, emphasizing the importance of temporal dynamics, multidisciplinary integration, and novel conceptual frameworks for the inherently mixed work and social setting of long-duration missions in ICE environments.

A better understanding of team dynamics over time can contribute to success in a variety of organizational settings, including space exploration, defense and security, business, education, athletics, and social relationships.

We promote a multidisciplinary approach to team dynamics in ICE environments that incorporates dynamic biological, behavioral, psychological, and organizational factors over time.

Describes the technological developments which are establishing the foundation for an exciting era of in situ exploration missions to planets, comets and asteroids with advanced robotic systems. Also outlines important concurrent terrestrial applications and spin offs of the space robotics technology. These include high‐precision robotic manipulators for microsurgical operations and dexterous arm control systems.

The goal of this research has been to design and field test a multi‐use planetary rover vehicle. SCOUT has been developed to test advanced rover hardware and software technologies and to enable the development and demonstration of mission operations concepts applicable to future planetary rover vehicle development activities.

This paper presents a description of the SCOUT vehicle capabilities and the results of the remote field testing conducted recently in Meteor Crater, AZ. These tests included (among others) onboard driving by suited crewmembers, remote teleoperation, autonomous point‐to‐point navigation, obstacle avoidance, human tracking and following, gesture recognition and onboard suit‐recharge.

SCOUT was successfully tested in all three driving modes (onboard by two suited crewmembers, teleoperation and autonomous) and additional capabilities verified over the course of the testing period.

Various tests experienced periodic telemetry drop‐outs to the vehicle. Future research should improve upon the communications architecture to minimize the loading on system bandwidth.

A multi‐use planetary rover will prove very useful on future Lunar and Martian exploration missions on an assortment of activities. In addition to equipment transport, riding on the rover will allow crewmembers to cover more surface area while conserving important extravehicular activity suit consumables.

Several new concepts for rover technologies are presented here including on‐board suit recharge, stereo‐vision human tracking and following, gesture recognition and autonomous driving and navigation.

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the autonomous navigation and guidance scheme for future precise and safe planetary landing.

Autonomous navigation and guidance schemes are proposed based on inertial measurement unit (IMU) and optical navigation sensors for precise and safe landing of spacecrafts on the moon and planetary bodies. First, vision‐aided inertial navigation scheme is suggested to achieve precise relative navigation; second, two autonomous obstacle detection algorithms, based on grey image from optical navigation camera and digital elevation map form light detection and ranging sensor, respectively, are proposed; and third, flowchart of automatic obstacle avoidance maneuver is also given out.

This paper finds that the performance of the proposed scheme precedes the traditional planetary landing navigation and guidance mode based on IMU and deep space network.

The presented schemes need to be further validated by the mathematical simulations and hardware‐in‐loop simulations, and then they can be used in the real flight missions.

The presented schemes are applicable to both future planetary pin‐point landing missions and sample return missions with little modification.

This paper presents the new autonomous navigation and guidance scheme in order to achieve the precise and safe planetary landing.

This paper aims to address some of the needs of present and upcoming rover designs, and introduces novel concepts incorporated in a planetary surface exploration rover design that is currently under development.

The Multitasking Rover (MTR) is a highly re‐configurable system that aims to demonstrate functionality that will cover many of the current and future needs such as rough‐terrain mobility, modularity and upgradeability. lt comprises a surface mobility platform which is highly re‐configurable, which offers centre of mass re‐allocation and rough terrain stability, and also a set of science/tool packs – individual sub‐systems encapsulated in packs which the rover picks up, transports and deploys.

Early testing of the suspension system suggests exceptional performance characteristics.

Principles employed in the design of the MTR can be used in future rover systems to reduce associated mission costs and at the same time provide multiples the functionality.

The purpose of this paper is to resolve the problem of the dynamic response performance of the driving control system for a six-wheeled planetary rover. An adaptive sliding mode controller based on an improved genetic algorithm (IGA) to tune PID sliding surface parameters was used in the driving control system of the planetary rover.

First, the mathematical model of planetary rover driving control is established. Second, according to sliding mode variable structure control, an equivalent controller and a disturbance controller are constructed to solve the problem of a multi-disturbance nonlinear driving control system of planetary rovers and an IGA is used to tune PID parameters.

Simulation results show that the proposed control algorithm improves the accuracy of the driving control system and optimizes the smoothness of rover motion control.

The controller based on the IGA to tune PID sliding surface parameters has good self-adaptability and real-time controllability for the control object which is difficult to present a precise mathematical model.

The advanced control method is adopted to solve the uncertainty and external interference of planetary rovers in a complex environment. The mathematical model of the six-wheeled rover is established as the control object and the uncertainty and external disturbance of the model are considered. The controller based on IGA has good adaptability and real-time performance and the control algorithm can be used to drive robots in complex environments.