IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - September 2022 - 10
Design, Testing,
and Evolution of
Mars Rover Testbeds
European Space Agency Planetary Exploration
By Martin Azkarate , Levin Gerdes , Tim Wiese, Martin Zwick,
Marco Pagnamenta, Javier Hidalgo-Carrió , Pantelis Poulakis,
and Carlos J. Pérez-del-Pulgar
T
his article presents the system architecture and
design of two planetary rover laboratory testbeds
developed at the European Space Agency (ESA).
These research platforms have been developed to
provide early prototypes for the validation of
designs and serve the ESA's Automation and Robotics Lab
infrastructure for continuous research and testing. Both
rovers have been built considering the constraints of space
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/MRA.2021.3134875
Date of current version: 14 January 2022
10 * IEEE ROBOTICS & AUTOMATION MAGAZINE * SEPTEMBER 2022
systems with a sufficient level of representativeness to allow
rapid prototyping. They avoid strictly space-qualified
components and designs that present a major cost burden
and frequently lack the flexibility or modularity that the lab
environment requires for its investigations. This design
approach is followed for all of the mechanical, electrical,
and software aspects of the system.
In this article, two ExoMars mission-representative rovers,
the ExoMars Testing Rover (ExoTeR) and Martian Rover Testbed
for Autonomy (MaRTA), are thoroughly described. The lessons
learned and experience gained while running several research
1070-9932/22©2022IEEE
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http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7648-8928
http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6709-9285
http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5819-8310
IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - September 2022
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - September 2022
Contents
IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - September 2022 - Cover1
IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - September 2022 - Cover2
IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - September 2022 - Contents
IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - September 2022 - 2
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IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - September 2022 - Cover3
IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - September 2022 - Cover4
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