Mission Concept: Cave and Lave Tube Exploration on Moon, Mars and Icy Moons for Eventual Settlement

Abstract

Future missions will be targeting extreme and rugged environments such as pits, caves, canyons, cliffs and crater rims of the Moon, Mars and icy moons. We propose multiple small, robots called SphereX that would explore these sites with the intent on setting human bases that would be naturally shielded from surface hazards.

Special spherical mobile robot for planetary surface exploration: A review

“…32 Several SphereX robots can be used to explore the caves, valleys, craters, and other places that are not easy to reach by active rover of the Moon, Mars and frozen satellites. 33,34 Cover the surface of each SphereX with micro barbs, and connect multiple SphereX with spring ropes (as shown in Figure 6(c)), imitating the actions of mountain climbers. SphereX can also realize the climbing function on steep cliffs and canyon walls.…”