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Publikation

Trajectory Optimization and Control of Hydrobatic Out-of-Water Maneuvers for Icy Moon Exploration

Lukas Skuras; Shubham Vyas; Bilal Wehbe; Frank Kirchner
In: 18th Symposium on Advanced Space Technologies in Robotics and Automation. ESA/Estec Symposium on Advanced Space Technologies in Robotics and Automation (ASTRA-2025), October 7-9, Leiden, Netherlands, ESA, 10/2025.

Zusammenfassung

The exploration of Icy moons’ oceans, such as Europa’s, presents a set of formidable engineering challenges. Deploying, navigating, and retrieving an Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) within constrained subglacial environments remains particularly difficult, as traditional AUVs suffer from several operational limitations like low Thrust-To-Weight ratios (TTWs), operation velocities, and large turn radii. This paper presents a trajectory optimization and control framework for agile, hydrobatic maneuvers with the prototype research platform “Arrow”, a new type of lightweight, high TTW AUV designed for planetary exploration. It features a TTW of over 4 - an order of magnitude greater than the current state of the art. “Arrow” is equipped with two counterrotating, tiltable thrusters that provide propulsion as well as pitch, yaw, and roll control via thrust and torque vectoring. Estimates predict a maximum velocity of 14 m/s, enabling theoretical jump heights of up to 10 meters on Earth and up to 75 meters on Europa; however, at least 5 m/s are to be expected. We demonstrate trajectory generation and control for hydrobatic and ballistic maneuvers, including on-the-spot turns, vertical hovering, and water-exiting jumps, using direct transcription with stabilization via a Time-Varying Linear Quadratic Regulator (TVLQR) controller. Simulation results validate dynamic behaviors under hydrodynamic effects, actuator limits, and multi-domain dynamics, and a differing model, highlighting mission-enabling capabilities such as tetherless retrieval and access to previously inaccessible underwater regions.

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