Swarm Navigation in Lunar Caves: The First Proof-of-Concept Mission on Lanzarote

Abstract

Exploring lunar lava caves is currently under research spotlight. Those caves could serve as perfect shelters to the astronauts and instruments from dramatic temperature variation and space radiation. However, so far, human has only little knowledge about those lunar caves. Robotic swarm is an emerging technology suitable for rapidly exploring large lunar caves. With the ability of autonomous trajectories optimization, the swarm can gather spatial-temporal information most efficiently. The nodes in swarm compose a self-organized radio network, providing multi-hop communications, precise time and position references without additional infrastructures like GNSSs or base stations. In addition, the swarm can utilize either extra sensors, or the communication signals that propagate in the network for environmental sensing. At the German Aerospace Center (DLR), we design compact and portable nodes with UWB technology for decentralized timing, position and environmental sensing. These nodes can be easily carried or deployed by robots, and are thus suitable for proof-of concept in space-analog missions. In this paper, we introduce our UWB swarm navigation system according to its building steps, namely, designing mission concepts, establishing self-organized network, conducting measurements, localizing the nodes, and radio-sensing the environment. Then we share some insights on the first lunar-analog swarm cave navigation mission conducted in the lava cave Cueva de los Naturalistas, Lanzarote, 2023, to demonstrate the navigation ability of our swarm.