Micro-technology for planetary exploration and education

Recent work has shown that it is possible to build small robots (typically ≈ 10 kg) that are capable of safely navigating through rough, slightly hazardous terrain. Companion developments in micro-sensors and micro-instrumentation have recently been proposed and, in some cases, demonstrated at the level of proof-of-concept. Micro-robots, therefore, when given an agile mobility system, a power supply, and a complement of micro-instruments are capable of performing useful scientific analysis. Since the rovers are small, they can have a greater strength to weight ratio, and can therefore accept a higher landing shock. Many small rovers conducting exploration in parallel yield three key advantages: first, coverage of a large area, if the rovers are landed at different locations; second, reliability through redundancy, thus offering the capability to explore sites that are scientifically interesting, but potentially of high hazard; third, opportunities for a large group of investigators to participate in the early exploratory surveys, if command of separate groups of micro-rovers is distributed among independent investigators. It is particularly intriguing to offer a fraction of the micro-rover fleet for a limited amount of time to teams of students, guided by their instructors. Such a program would: (1) explore a new mission architecture which reflects the powerful advantages of distributed processes and (2) welcome a new resourceful segment of the population into space science and exploration.