The duration of the CoRob-X project was 24 months, from March 1, 2021 to February 28, 2023.
In a first step, the lunar exploration scenario was analyzed from a scientific and mission-oriented point of view. This led to functional requirements for the robotic exploration team.
Then, the principles of this real lunar mission were translated in a definition of a feasible lunar analogue mission. This analogue was the basis to define functional and technical requirements for the CoRob-X robot team.
An analysis of the current State-of-the-Art in the fields of planetary exploration and space robotics was performed. The focus of this survey was on determining which technologies are available for CoRob-X to match the challenging functional and technical requirements for the robot team.
The evaluation of critical technologies needed to fulfill the requirements for the lunar analogue mission included the technology building blocks developed in the SRC Space Robotics Technologies over the course of the last decade. Together with SoA hardware and software developed in non-SRC R&D projects by the consortium members, the SRC bulding blocks were organized into a system architecture to support both the Lunar Analogue Mission and the Terrestrial Demonstrator.
The Terrestrial Demonstrator and the transfer of the CoRob-X solution to a terrestrial application scenario was organized in parallel to the development of the Lunar Analogue Mission. This included an analysis of the terrestrial use-case (a mining scenario), the planning of the developments needed to support this use-case, and the implementation of the hardware and software needed to finally demonstrate this use case.
Once all technical concepts had been developed, the sub-systems needed by the CoRob-X robotic exploration team to successfully complete the Lunar Analogue Mission were implemented.
In one workpackage, the focus was on the software architecture and development of software sub-systems, and on the selection and preparation of the site for the lunar analogue and the field camp.
In another workpackage, the already available hardware sub-systems were adapted to the new Lunar Analogue Mission or developed from scratch, if needed. The focus here was on hardware development and HW-SW integration and testing. Softare environments for testing in simulation, facilities for remote testing with hardware-in-the-loop, as well as an integration and testing event where all consortium members physically gathered at DFKI in Bremen were organized.
Finally, the CoRob-X consortium gathered for a 3-week field test in Lanzarote, Canary Islands. The capabilities of the robotic exploration team were demonstrated in a Lunar Analogue Mission that involved the exploration of a real, albeit terrestrial, lava tube. In parallel, the terrestrial CoRob-X robot team was demonstrated in a mine-tunnel in northwestern Spain.
The demonstrations were accompanied by activities related to the communication and dissemination of the project objectives and results to the scientific community and interested public. This included the set-up of a project webpage, posts on social media channels, press releases, conference papers, and a real-time blog during the demonstration events. Several videos covering the mission scenarios and the field tests are available via the project web-page (www.corob-x.eu). Representatives of ESA and space agencies from several member states (organized in the PERASPRA PSA) as well as the EU PO attended the Lunar Analogue Mission and were able to watch first-hand how the CoRob-X robot team performed.
