On situ testing for space devices is complex when they need to be developed on Earth, which is the case for virtually all devices, at least for now. Typically, engineers and scientists developing the next lunar or Mars robotic explorer have looked for exotic targets that look like they might fit on another planet, but are just more exotic parts of our planet. The robotics team at DLR, the German space agency, concluded that things could be even better. That’s why they built a 1,500 square meter test stand for their upcoming Mars and moon exploration robots.

In-situ testing for space equipment is complex when it has to be developed on Earth, which is the case for literally all of it, at least for now.

The test bed, which sits in the town of Oberpfaffenhofen outside DLR’s Robotics and Mechatronic Center, contains plenty of simulants for both the lunar and Martian surfaces. It is also connected via a trail to the “Test Site for Planetary Rovers,” an already existing system run by the DLR’s Institute of System Dynamics and Control for a similar purpose.

It’s first few missions include the IDEFIX rover, built with the French space agency CNES, which will be sent to Phobos as part of the MMX mission from Japan next year. While the test bed wasn’t explicitly designed with Phobos in mind, it is still similar enough to be helpful.

Some of that testing will involve dynamically created maps of the space. To help facilitate that, the test bed includes an optical tracking system that provides standard measurements of terrain features to compare the dynamic ones developed by the rovers themselves.

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