Robotic Explorer for Hypothesized Surfaces – AURORA (Autonomous Unit for Reaction-wheel Orientation & Real-time Analytics)

INSTITUTION

Arizona State University (ASU)

CLASS

Platinum Class (2025 – 2026)

STUDENT TEAM

ACADEMIC GUIDANCE

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

AURORA (Autonomous Unit for Reaction-wheel Orientation & Real-time Analytics) is an ASU EPICS team developing an autonomous rover concept capable of navigating the surface of asteroid 16 Psyche, where low gravity, metallic terrain, and communication delays make traditional rovers ineffective. With no surface rover planned for the actual Psyche mission, our team is exploring what autonomous surface exploration could look like. We built P.A.R, a sensor testing platform integrating LiDAR, ultrasonic, and camera-based object detection and terrain identification, and a separate Cubli-style reaction wheel prototype for balance and torque control in low-gravity conditions. Our final prototype will combine both systems into a fully autonomous rover capable of independent navigation, surface data collection, and hazard detection — bridging the gap between orbital observation and direct surface exploration.

This work was created in partial fulfillment of the Arizona State University Capstone Course “FSE 104/404.” The work is a result of the Psyche Student Collaborations component of NASA’s Psyche Mission (https://psyche.ssl.berkeley.edu). “Psyche: A Journey to a Metal World” [Contract number NNM16AA09C] is part of the NASA Discovery Program mission to solar system targets. Trade names and trademarks of ASU and NASA are used in this work for identification only. Their usage does not constitute an official endorsement, either expressed or implied, by Arizona State University or National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of ASU or NASA.