ETH students develop space hopping robot for asteroid probe

University students at ETH Zurich have developed a space robot that employs jumping-like movements to navigate environments with very low gravity.

Last year, the team evaluated the robot’s features in zero-gravity scenarios on a European Space Agency parabolic flight.

Parabolic flights — typically carried out twice a year — are the only sub-orbital carriers that allow scientists to conduct in-person experiments under conditions of microgravity.

The ‘SpaceHopper’ project was launched two and a half years ago as a focus project for bachelor’s degree students. Five master’s degree students and one doctoral student are now continuing it as a regular research project.

ETH Zurich student Valerio Schelbert explained: “The prototype we’ve developed moves asteroids by hopping. It uses the low levels of gravity on asteroids to travel.

According to fellow project member Fabio Buhler, there are two reasons to explore asteroids in space.

“The first is to gain new insights into the universe and our history. The second is that many asteroids contain rare materials that could be valuable to humanity in the future.”

One challenge in developing exploration robots such as these is the very low gravity prevailing on small celestial bodies (such as comets and asteroids) as opposed to larger bodies such as Earth.

Buhler added: “Until we tested the SpaceHopper in zero-gravity, we had no idea whether the robot would actually work and were very excited when it did. It was a massive weight off our shoulders.”

According to the ETH Zurich team, the experiment demonstrated how the robot could use its legs to reposition itself and jump in specific directions. “Overall, it was very successful,” Buhler added.

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