Our Objectives
Investigate subsurface lava tubes
Confirm the existence and assess the extent of subsurface voids.
Assess the suitability of lava tubes for human exploration and habitation
Determine why collapse occurred and whether further collapse is likely. Assess availability of in-situ resources (ISRs). Determine the accessibility of the pit edge with potential future large robotic systems.
Assess geological processes, with a focus on the volcanic evolution of the Moon
Study key aspects of lunar volcanism exposed along the pit wall. Determine the number of flows, their volume, nature and their timescales. Paleoregolith layers might be present and could hold traces from the early Sun and Earth’s atmosphere. Connect local to more regional observations.
Investigate the local and regional extent of the regolith
Determine lateral and vertical extent of regolith. Assess properties of lunar regolith, including its composition, structure, and mechanical behavior, directly linked to mission design, landing safety, mobility, and the feasibility of in-situ resource utilization (ISRU) for future lunar exploration.
Operate a legged robot on the Moon
Employing and operating the first legged robot on an extraterrestrial surface, demonstrating new technological opportunities on the Moon and beyond.
Concept
Mobility
LunarLeaper is based on the SpaceHopper design, the result of 4 years of iteration at ETH's Robotic Systems Lab (RSL). The robot weighs <15 kg.
Landing site
We want to explore the Marius Hills pit on the near side of the moon, a pit that is thought to be connected to a subsurface hollow lava tube.
Our plan is to land outside the hypothesized extent of the lava tube and traverse it twice, while taking some time at the pit itself.
Instruments
We combine geophysical measurements from the surface with imaging from the pit rim. The geophysical instruments are a gravimeter (GRAV) and a ground penetrating radar (GPR). For the imaging we use our dedicated science camera (SCAM) and hopefully a spectrometer (SPEC). The legs of the rover can be used to to dig in the lunar soil to estimate mechanical properties.
Articles
SWISSINFO
Swarm of Swiss robots could take part in future space missions
BBC
The space hopper robot that 'walks' like a cat
ETH Zürich - EAPS
LunarLeaper - a big leap for human mankind
Fraser Cain
Leaping Robot for Lunar Lava Caves
Team
Dr. Anna Mittelholz
Principal Investigator
- Lead of the Magnetometer Working Group and member of the leadership team for InSight.
- Involved in mission development for the Mars Helicopter led by JPL.
- Science focus on interior evolution of planets and their magnetic fields, currently as an SNSF Ambizione Fellow at ETH Zurich.
Dr. Simon Stähler
Deputy Principal Investigator
- Lead of the Tectonics working group and member of the leadership team for InSight; Co-Investigator of the BELA instrument on BepiColombo.
- Curriculum director for the M.Sc. Space Systems at ETH Zurich.
- Science focus on geophysical investigation of tectonic and subsurface processes on planets.
Dr. Hendrik Kolvenbach
Lead Robotics
- PI of Team Glimpse (winning team of ESA/ESRIC Space Resource Challenge), PI of PLATE - Pilot Lunar Abrasion Experiment for Rashid-1 mission.
- Author of several high-impact publications for legged robots
- Principal engineer for several legged robots
Michael Gschweitl
Space System Engineer
- Senior System Engineer and MAIT lead with 10+ year of experience in Space industry
- Contributed to several institutional and commercial space projects launched in the past decade like Beresheet, Solar Orbiter, JUICE, OneWeb 1st Gen, HISPASAT 1
- Technical Lead ETH Zurich Space
Aurélie Coucheril
Space Systems Engineer
- 7 years of experience as a space systems engineer
- Worked on the CLEAR and ClearSpace-1 space debris removal missions
- Designed and operated spacecrafts for an IoT mission
Dr. Valentin Bickel
Lead Geology
- Mission Co-I and instrument Co-PI on MBRSC’s Rashid 1 and 2 rovers and involvement in multiple missions (es. InSight, VIPER, MRO, Mars Express and TGO).
- Researcher at Center for Space and Habitability CSH Fellow.
- Focus on evolution of planetary surfaces across the solar system.
Joe Church
Lead Engineering
- 10 years at NASA GSFC as Robot Joint Control Electronics lead for OSAM-1 Robot arms, Mechanism Control Electronics lead engineer for Lucy L’Ralph.
- Electrical/Mechanical I&T experience on NASA GEDI, PACE.
- Developed Lunar Hazard Detection Lidar “SPLICE”.
Dr. Ozgur Karatekin
Lead Gravimetry
- PI of GRASS gravimeter and Juventas CubeSat Hera mission.
- Institutional leader on geophysical exploration of small bodies including the Moon.
- Science focus on gravity and planetary geodesy.
Dr. Svein-Erik Hamran
Lead Ground-Penetrating-Radar
- Director of the Center for Space Sensors and Systems at UiO.
- PI of the Radar Imager for Mars’ Subsurface Experiment RIMFAX on NASA’s Perseverance Rover and Co-PI on the WISDOM GPR on ESA’s ExoMars rover.
- PhD in GPR, more than 30 years of experience in radar science.
Matthias Grott
Lead Infrared Spectrometer
- Head of Department Planetary Sensor Systems at the DLR Institute of Space Research
- PI of the miniRAD infrared radiometer on the IDEFIX rover
- Science focus on thermal modeling and thermophysical properties of airless bodies
Elena Krasnova
Thermal / Robotics Hardware Engineer
- Former CAD Design Lead of the SpaceHopper Project, related thesis on the mission planning and thermal design of the robot.
- Research Engineer and hardware specialist at the Robotic Systems Lab of ETH.
Adrian Fuhrer
Space Robotics Engineer
- Former Vice President of ARIS (student space association) with hands-on leadership in ESRA rocketry competitions, including propulsion system development.
- Visiting Student Researcher at NASA IPt, BRUIE sub-ice exploration robot for icy ocean.
Philip Arm
Robot Control Engineer
- Robotics Lead of Team Glimpse (Winning team of ESA/ESRIC Space Resource Challenge)
- Team Lead on SpaceBok, robot for planetary exploration
- Author of several high-impact publications on locomotion and manipulation of legged robots
Mentors
Prof. Domenico
Giardini
Co-PI of the NASA InSight mission
Co-PI of the ESA LISA mission
Prof. Thomas
Zurbuchen
Former Associate Administrator of the NASA Science Mission Directorate
Prof. Marco
Hutter
Expert in legged robotic systems
Prof. Miguel
Olivares-Mendez
Director of the Space Science Master in Luxembourg, expertise in robotic systems
Prof. Nicolas
Thomas
Developed optical instruments for multiple ESA missions (Mars Express, TGO, BepiColombo)
Contact Person
Dr. Anna Mittelholz - anna.mittelholz@eaps.ethz.ch
