The DOI matches its Crossref record.
Autonomy in Space Exploration: Current Capabilities and Future Challenges
Abstract
Deep space exploration requires vehicles with appropriate autonomous capabilities. In order to accomplish their missions, spacecraft need to respond to potential hazards while seeking to expand human knowledge of deep space. This paper provides an overview of the role of autonomy for space exploration. First, we explore the range of autonomous behavior that is useful in space exploration. Second, three core requirements are defined for autonomous space systems. Fourth, we identify the decision-making capabilities that will ensure the effectiveness and safety of autonomous systems. Fifth, we describe architectures for integrating capabilities into an autonomous system. Finally, we discuss the challenges that are faced currently in developing and deploying autonomy technologies for space.
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Claims the paper makes
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
Significant savings can be realized by automating maintenance and space vehicle operations.
“In addition, there is a growing urge to reduce the overall cost of operating in space, and it is logical to believe that significant savings can be realized by automating maintenance and space vehicle operations [22].”
From Applications and Challenges of Artificial Intelligence in Space Missions (2024) · cites this paper as [22]
Autonomy requires goal-driven capability: an autonomous system must achieve a set of goals by transforming them into sequences of actions.
“An autonomous system must be capable of achieving a set of goals by transforming the goals into sequences of actions that accomplish each goal.”
From Applications and Challenges of Artificial Intelligence in Space Missions (2024) · cites this paper as [22]
Autonomy requires flexibility: an autonomous system should respond to off-nominal situations by adjusting its actions to reach a goal successfully.
“Finally, an autonomous system should have the flexibility to respond to off-nominal situations by adjusting its actions to enable it to reach a goal successfully.”
From Applications and Challenges of Artificial Intelligence in Space Missions (2024) · cites this paper as [22]
Autonomy requires agency: an autonomous system must be able to sense its environment and state, make decisions about what to do, and act on those decisions.
“Therefore, an autonomous system must possess the traditional qualities of agency, which is the ability to sense, think, and act. It must be able to sense its environment and its state; make decisions about what to do, and act on the decisions through their action.”
From Applications and Challenges of Artificial Intelligence in Space Missions (2024) · cites this paper as [22]
Robustness to some extent requires the decentralization of control.
“Robustness, to some extent, will require the decentralization of control [22, 120].”
From Applications and Challenges of Artificial Intelligence in Space Missions (2024) · cites this paper as [22]
Citations
Cites
No references could be resolved yet.
Research works printed but not linked: 14
- morris, 2000, Coordinated observation scheduling, Proc i-SAIRAS
- 10.1109/CVPR.2004.398 · DOI
- jonsson, 2000, Morris, Nicola Muscettola, Kanna Rajan, and Ben Smith. Planning in Interplanetary Space: Theory and Practice, Proc 5th Int Conf Artificial Intelligence Planning Scheduling
- hofbaur, 2004, Hybrid Estimator of Complex Systems, IEEE Transactions on Systems Man and Cybernetics Part B, 34, 2178, 10.1109/TSMCB.2004.835009 · DOI
- hauser, 2006, Motion Planning for a Six Legged Lunar Robot, Workshop Algorithmic Foundations of Robotics (WAFR)
- robertson, 2006, Autonomous Robust Execution of Complex Robotic Missions, 595
- simmons, 2002, Multi-Robot Systems: From Swarms to Intelligent Automata, Proceedings from the 2002 NRL workshop on multi-robot systems
- tompkins, 2004, Mission-level path planning for rover exploration, Proceedings of the The 8th Conference on Intelligent Autonomous Systems (IAS-8)
- tumer, 2005, A Distributed and Adaptive Health and Mission Management Architecture, Proceedings of the Integrated System Health Management Conference
- verma, 2005, Plan execution interchange language (plexil) for executable plans and command sequences, International Symposium on Artificial Intelligence Robotics and Automation in Space
- 10.1109/ROBOT.2000.844041 · DOI
- 10.1109/CVPR.2005.222 · DOI
- brooks, 0, Intelligence Without Representation Artificial Intelligence, 47, 139
- cheng, 2006, Visual Odometry on the Mars Exploration Rovers, IEEE Robotics and Automation magazine, 13
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Applications and Challenges of Artificial Intelligence in Space Missions
Oche, P. A., Ewa, G. A., & Ibekwe, N. (2024) · IEEE Access · doi:10.1109/access.2021.3132500 · Cited by 68
“In [22], Johnson et al . propose the following necessary conditions for autonomy: Autonomy embodies a range of behaviors associated with agents.”
Background
Metadata
- Authors
- Jonsson, A. K., Morris, R. A., & Pedersen, L.
- Affiliations
- Ames Research Center (US)
- ORCID
- Morris, Robert A.
- Venue
- 2007 IEEE Aerospace Conference
- Publisher
- IEEE
- Published
- 2007
- Pages
- 1-12
- ISSN
- 1095-323X (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W1993576623
- Cited by
- 30
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 4 · 2021: 3 · 2019: 1 · 2017: 3 · 2016: 2 · 2015: 1 · 2014: 2 · 2012: 1
- FWCI
- 1.95
- Type
- conference paper
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- IEEE Aerospace Conference (AERO) (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Artificial Intelligence › AI-based Problem Solving and Planning
- Physical Sciences › Engineering › Aerospace Engineering › Space Exploration and Technology
- Social Sciences › Political Science and International Relations › Space exploration and regulation
- Keywords
- autonomous spacecraft, deep space exploration, autonomous decision-making
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