Revolutionizing Space Exploration: AI-Enhanced Autonomy Rover for Next-Generation Mars Missions

Staffieri F.; Staffieri A.; Staffieri C.; Shekhar S.; Kotzakioulafis F.; Taherkhany M.; Bett J.S.P.; Alzadjali B.; Bhagat A.; Fathy N. · AI Impact and Autonomy on Space Exploration - Held at the Global Space Exploration Conference, GLEX 2025 (2025) · DOI: 10.52202/080565-0003

Resumen

The first successful mission to Mars, Mariner 4 was launched by NASA on November 28, 1964. Since then, the red planet has become the main challenge for humanity to inhabit another planet within the solar system. Mars is, in fact, a planet very similar to Earth from a geological point of view, for this reason it is among the best candidates to carry out scientific studies for space exploration. Modern technologies developed with the progress of information technology and satellite telecommunications in deep space have allowed the development of autonomous rovers that allow us to study the surface of Mars directly and prepare for the next missions with a human crew, scheduled for the next decades. The role that rovers have and will have in the direct space exploration of a new planet is constantly increasing, as demonstrated by Curiosity, a rover launched by a mission from NASA’s Mars Science Laboratory in 2011, and Perseverance launched in 2020. Both missions had as their main founding objective that of acquiring more information about Mars, in particular whether it had habitable conditions in the past, with reference to the presence of water and, collecting rock and soil samples to analyze how to explore in a sustainable way. The paper analyzes the most relevant aspects of the design of a new generation autonomous Martian rover that makes decisions through artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms that allow safe navigation by avoiding obstacles and an optimization of its operation and its dependence on Earth by analyzing data in real time. Furthermore, our study explores the legal challenges linked to the increasing autonomous usage of AI systems in space, as current international space law, overseen by several international agreements, of which the Outer Space Treaty is the most noticeable, will probably require reforms and updates in order to acclimate the ethical use of Artificial Intelligence in future exploration missions. Topics like liability for autonomous decision-making, the use and ownership of data collected with AI, as well as the probable militarization of space present concerns which call for new regulatory and legal frameworks. By handling these challenges, we emphasize how AI-powered rovers can not only significantly improve mission success but also steer the evolution of forthcoming international space law and policy. Copyright

Instituciones: Universidad Nacional de Ingeniería