Abstract: 
The surface and subsurface of worlds beyond Mars remain largely unexplored despite their enormous scientific significance. The conventional paradigm of planetary exploration, which we refer to as Planetary Exploration 2.0 (PE 2.0), relies on a campaign of incrementally sophisticated missions over decades. For Mars exploration, this approach worked because of the relatively short 7 to 10 month cruise time. Yet the same paradigm becomes impractical for the outer Solar System, where cruise times often exceed a decade and environmental uncertainty remains extremely high until arrival. 

 

I envision a new exploration paradigm called Planetary Exploration 3.0 (PE 3.0), in which unvisited worlds are explored by one-shot or few-shot missions using radically adaptive, software-defined robotic systems. They progressively evolves its operational modes, scientific objectives, and onboard behaviors based on observations acquired in situ. Such robots must be equipped with system-level adaptability, combined with onboard intelligence. This talk will first outline the vision of PE 3.0, followed by the relevant research and development efforts I let at JPL. I will then present the research directions of the newly founded Planetary Robotics Laboratory at Georgia Tech for realizing this vision and enable future robotic explorers to boldly go where no robots have gone before.