LIBS enrichment of planetary-analogue rover datasets
Context
Natural test sites with harsh environmental conditions are essential for validating scientific instrumentation and robotic exploration strategies under realistic constraints. Semi-arid environments such as the Bardenas Reales Natural Park provide complex terrain, limited accessibility and strong environmental variability, making them suitable scenarios for advanced field experimentation.
Challenge
Robotic exploration in outdoor environments requires sensing systems capable of delivering reliable analytical information despite platform motion, uneven terrain, variable stand-off distances and limited communication bandwidth. Scientific instrumentation must therefore be robust, autonomous and compatible with exploration workflows driven by navigation and perception systems.
Instrumentation approach
In the Bardenas Reales campaigns, the group provided and deployed a compact LIBS spectrometer adapted for operation on terrestrial robotic platforms. The instrument was operated remotely. A key aspect of this work was the first implementation of fully geo-referenced and time-stamped analytical measurements within the group’s field instrumentation, enabling the association of chemical information with spatial context during robotic exploration. These developments built directly on the group’s experience in compact optical instrumentation and autonomy, extending previous airborne and portable concepts to ground-based robotic exploration.
Collaboration
The work was carried out following an invitation from the Space Robotics Lab at the University of Málaga, within the context of joint activities focused on autonomous robotic exploration in planetary-analogue environments. The collaboration combined complementary expertise in autonomous robotic navigation and perception with the group’s capabilities in scientific instrumentation, sensing and data acquisition.
The Bardenas Reales field campaigns were conducted within a broader international collaborative framework involving multiple academic and research institutions. Participating organizations included the Space Robotics Lab, Department of Systems Engineering and Automation, University of Málaga (Spain); the Planetary Robotics Lab, Automation and Robotics Section, European Space Agency (The Netherlands); Télécom Nancy (France); and Delft University of Technology (The Netherlands). This multi-institutional setting enabled the integration of advanced sensing technologies into realistic robotic exploration scenarios and supported the development of rich, multi-modal datasets for planetary-analogue research.
Outcomes and relevance
The Bardenas deployments served as a full-scale field rehearsal of the instrument’s operation under realistic conditions, validating opto-mechanical stability as well as electronic and software performance during robotic field campaigns. The work consolidated complete operational workflows for the deployment of independent, geo-referenced and time-stamped analytical sensing in robotic exploration scenarios.
Status
Completed.