Astronaut and rover in lava tube

A prototype rover is commanded to drive in Cueva de Los Verdes lava tube in Spain’s Canary Island of Lanzarote, also known as the island of a thousand volcanoes.

This rover is taking part in a test campaign that brings together geology, high-tech survey equipment and space exploration. For five days to 24 November 2017, Pangaea-X  mobilised 50 people, four space agencies and 18 organisations in five different locations. 

DFKI's Asguard rover simulates a lunar spacewalk on rough surfaces. The robot navigates by continuously building a 3D model of the environment. Humans can drive it manually, but this robotic explorer runs mostly in auto mode. 

European engineers hope to improve their autonomy and precision by tackling volcanoes, caves and underground highways formed by lava.

This type of settings are potential candidates to host human habitats in future missions to the Moon and Mars.