WFS AZ July 2016 Meeting

Topic: Future Trends in Space Exploration

Speaker: Dr. Jekan Thanga, head of the Space and Terrestrial Robotic Exploration (SpaceTREx) lab at ASU.

Exploration of space can answer fundamental questions of our origins, our existence and our future. Through space exploration, we have become better aware of the threats facing our planet and potential future opportunities to explore and migrate off Earth. However, exploration of space remains an expensive endeavor that often only a select few nations can undertake due to the high cost, requirement for specialized equipment and personnel. Some of the most exciting locations in the solar system are not yet accessible due to limits in current technology and current risk postures. We are living in exciting times when this is about to change. Thanks to miniaturization of electronics, availability of long-range communication systems, availability of private launch opportunities and services in space, the stage is getting set for a new space economy.

On this new stage, are new actors, including universities, non-profit foundations, private companies, startups and individuals/hobbyists. Thanks to all these factors, we see a future where travel to low-earth orbit becomes routine, we see the foundation for extraction of resource in space, made in space products and services. Humans will routinely go into low-earth orbit for tourism, science/engineering and commerce. Instead of sending one large spacecraft or rover to a planetary surface, missions will be sending swarms of small spacecraft and robotic devices that can observe many places at once, travel harsh inhospitable environments where even if a few are damaged the mission continues.

In addition these systems will have the ability to roll, dig underground, hop and fly. Such capabilities will enable us to obtain in-situ pictures and science data, perform resource prospecting and help to uncover some tantalizing mysteries, while providing us “Google Street View” level of detail of large areas of the Moon, Mars and beyond.

Professor Jekan Thanga, head of the Space and Terrestrial Robotic Exploration (SpaceTREx) Laboratory at ASU will be joining our next meeting to share, among other things, the latest in the school's concept for personalized miniature satellites which would one day provide everyone access to outer space.

Here's an article explaining the concept: http://www.sciencealert.com/this-tiny-satellite-could-be-your-own-personal-space craft-from-just-1-000 (https://webmail.west.cox.net/do/redirect?url=http%253A%252F%252Fwww.sciencealert.com%252Fthis-tiny-satellite-could-be-your-own-personal-spacecraft-from-just-1-000)

Space and Terrestrial Robotic Exploration (SpaceTREx) Laboratory site: http://space.asu.edu/

About Dr. Thanga:

Professor Jekan Thanga has a background in aerospace engineering from the University of Toronto. He worked on Canadarm, Canadarm 2 and the DARPA Orbital Express missions at MDA Space Missions. Jekan obtained his Ph.D. in space robotics at the University of Toronto Institute for Aerospace Studies (UTIAS) and did a postdoc at MIT's Field and Space Robotics Laboratory (FSRL). Jekan is broadly interested in the exploration of space and extreme environments, using networks of robots, interplanetary CubeSats and smart sensors. His research focuses on developing enabling technologies, that spans system design, propulsion, networking and power to permit smart, fully autonomous operation for long durations. This is achieved through multidisciplinary optimization using a combination of conventional, adaptive and bio-inspired neuro-evolutionary methods resulting in high performance, unconventional design and control solutions that would otherwise not be envisioned by a human designer. His research covers the investigation of fundamental theoretical concepts with simulation using computational tools, culminating with field trials and deployment.