Swiss university unveils a hopping robot designed for asteroid exploration.

SpaceHopper has undergone successful testing in a zero-gravity environment. GENEVA: In a groundbreaking initiative, students at ETH Zurich University in Switzerland have engineered a cutting-edge three-legged robot capable of traversing the rugged terrain of asteroids through a series of long-distance hops, the university revealed on its website Thursday. Dubbed the SpaceHopper, this innovative robotic platform is poised to revolutionize space exploration by facilitating missions to investigate relatively small celestial bodies like asteroids and moons. These extraterrestrial objects hold immense potential, potentially harboring valuable mineral resources vital for humanity's future endeavors. The university highlighted that the exploration of these celestial bodies not only holds promise for resource extraction but also offers profound insights into the formation and evolution of the universe itself. Originally conceived as a research project for bachelor's degree students two and a half years ago, the SpaceHopper initiative has evolved into a full-fledged research endeavor led by five master's students and one doctoral candidate.

One of the major challenges encountered in developing such exploration robots is the minuscule gravity present on small celestial bodies compared to larger ones like Earth, noted the university. To address this, researchers rigorously tested the functionality of the SpaceHopper in zero gravity conditions during a parabolic flight conducted by the European Space Agency (ESA). This pioneering effort represents a significant step forward in humanity's quest to explore and understand the mysteries of the cosmos.

City: Geneva