Science and Exploration at the Moon and Mars Enabled by Surface Telerobotics
Authors: Jack O. Burns, Terry Fong, David A. Kring, William D. Pratt, Timothy Cichan
Abstract: NASA/ESA are preparing a series of Exploration Missions using Orion and additional infrastructure at a Deep Space Gateway in cis-lunar space. This will provide an opportunity for science and exploraiton from the lunar farside facilitated by surface telerobotics. We describe several precursor telepresence experiments, using the ISS and a student-built rover, which are laying the groundwork for teleoperation of rovers on the Moon and eventually Mars. We describe exciting near-term science that can be conducted from the lunar farside with teleoperated rovers including an astronaut-assisted sample return, a high priority from the U.S. Planetary Science Decadal Survey, and the deployment of a low frequency radio telescope array to observe the first stars and galaxies (Cosmic Dawn), as described in NASA's Astrophysics Roadmap.