Autonomous Surface Sampling for the Europa Lander Mission Concept

J. Bowkett et al.

Download paper / View at Science Robotics (DOI: 10.1126/scirobotics.adi5582)

This paper presents the design, software architecture, and field demonstration of an end-to-end autonomous robotic surface sampling system developed for the Europa Lander mission concept. The autonomy framework integrates visual perception, workspace analysis, kinematic reachability, force/torque proprioceptive monitoring, autonomous science site targeting, fault detection and recovery, and closed-loop execution on physical flight-representative lander hardware deployed at Matanuska Glacier, Alaska.

Recommended citation: Bowkett J. et al. “Autonomous Surface Sampling for the Europa Lander Mission Concept.” Science Robotics, 2025. DOI: 10.1126/scirobotics.adi5582.