Since 2004, NASA has been working to return to the Moon. In contrast to the Apollo missions, two key objectives of the current exploration program is to establish significant infrastructure and an outpost. Achieving these objectives will enable long-duration stays and long-distance exploration of the Moon. To do this, robotic systems will be needed to perform tasks which cannot, or should not, be performed by crew alone. In this paper, we summarize our work to develop "utility robots" for lunar surface operations, present results and lessons learned from field testing, and discuss directions for future research.

We are studying how "robotic follow-up" can improve future planetary exploration. Robotic follow-up, which we define as augmenting human field work with subsequent robot activity, is a field exploration technique designed to increase human productivity and science return. To better understand the benefits, requirements, limitations and risks associated with this technique, we are conducting analog field tests with human and robot teams at the Haughton Crater impact structure on Devon Island, Canada. In this paper, we discuss the motivation for robotic follow-up, describe the scientific context and system design for our work, and present results and lessons learned from field testing.

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By 2020, NASA plans to return to the Moon with a new series of regularly spaced surface missions. Crewed missions will initially be "extended sortie" (e.g., 1-2 weeks). During the first few years of the lunar campaign, humans will be on the Moon less than 10% of the time. During the 90% of time between crew visits, robots could perform tasks under ground control. This paper presents the system design for a prototype robotic recon robot and ground control approach, as well as a terrestrial analog field test designed to assess the utility of recon for augmenting and assisting human exploration of a lunar-like environment. Results are presented for recent field testing of the reconnaissance robot in northern Arizona.

During Summer 2013, we conducted a series of tests to examine how astronauts in the International Space Station (ISS) can remotely operate a planetary rover. The tests simulated portions of a proposed mission, in which an astronaut in lunar orbit remotely operates a planetary rover to deploy a radio telescope on the lunar farside. In this paper, we present the design, implementation, and preliminary test results.