Illustrative: Tuvie Images      

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is setting its sights on a significant leap in planetary exploration by moving beyond traditional wheeled rovers.

Through a newly issued tender, the agency is seeking to procure three advanced quadruped robotic systems designed to tackle the formidable landscapes of the Moon and Mars.

These four-legged machines are engineered to mimic animal locomotion, providing a level of agility and adaptability that is often difficult for current exploration vehicles to achieve on uneven, rocky, or cratered surfaces.

Efficiency and portability are at the core of the design requirements for these mechanical explorers. Each unit must maintain a lightweight profile, weighing no more than 30 kg, while remaining robust enough to support a 5 kg scientific payload.

This balance ensures that the robots can be integrated into future mission payloads without exceeding strict launch mass constraints, yet still carry the necessary instruments to conduct meaningful on-site research.

Performance specifications for the quadruped systems highlight a focus on both speed and ruggedness. ISRO has stipulated a top speed of 1.5 m/s, allowing for rapid traversal of the lunar or Martian Regolith. 

Furthermore, the robots are required to navigate steep inclines with a climbing angle of up to 25°, a capability that will prove vital when exploring the rims of impact craters or the base of volcanic features where traditional wheels might slip or become stuck.

Autonomous navigation is a critical component of the procurement, as the communication delay between Earth and deep-space destinations necessitates a high degree of independence. To achieve this, the robots will be equipped with a suite of high-tech sensors, including multi-line LiDAR for precise mapping and depth cameras for real-time obstacle detection.

These systems will allow the robots to build internal maps and make split-second decisions regarding the safest and most efficient paths to their objectives.

The tender also extends beyond the physical hardware of the robots themselves, encompassing the sophisticated computing power required to operate them. ISRO is calling for high-end workstations and laptops specifically configured to handle reinforcement learning training.

This suggests a long-term strategy of using machine learning to improve the robots' walking gaits and responses to unpredictable terrain over time, ensuring they become more proficient as their mission progresses.

Finally, the procurement includes specialised systems for telecommand based on the Robot Operating System (ROS) framework. This standardized approach will allow engineers to maintain a reliable link with the machines, facilitating complex commands and data retrieval.

By integrating these cutting-edge quadruped systems into their exploration roadmap, ISRO is positioning itself at the forefront of robotic mobility, ensuring that no terrain is too challenging for India’s future space missions.

ISRO