Conferences, Courses, Symposia and Workshops

Fourth ESA Workshop on Automation and Robotics

ASTRA '96, the Fourth ESA Workshop on Advanced Space Technologies for Robot Applications was held on 6-7 November 1996 at ESTEC, Noordwijk, and was attended by 112 participants from European industry, research institutes and national space agencies. The objective of the Workshop was to provide the European space Automation and Robotics (A&R) community with a forum for brainstorming and discussion covering all areas of A&R technology.

The workshop was divided into in three main parts:

• an overview of potential missions and application scenarios;

• presentations of research and development programmes of A&R for space;

• parallel sessions on the main technologies.

The first part included presentations of:

• European Robotic Arm (ERA);

• the technology demonstration experiment JERICO (jointly conducted by ESA and the Italian Space Agency and flown on the Russian MIR station);

• the possible use A&R systems internal and external to the pressurised module of the International Space Station;

• methods of servicing geostationary vehicles by robots;

• perspectives of applying robots to missions to the lunar surface;

• scientific applications of robotic systems to planetary missions;

• potential applicaions of robotics to future science missions.

The proceedings of both days were accompanied by demonstations and exhibits (including a small Mars and Moon terrain model) in the laboratories of the Automation and Ground Facilities Division at ESTEC.

Particular highlights were the various the presentations and the laboratory demonstrations of mobile robots, which relevent to sensor deployment during missions to the Moon or to Mars.

The Workshop was very successful in providing an inspiring forum in which members of the European space auromation and robotics community to exchange ideas and the latest information about potential the project applications.

Forthcoming Events

International Workshop on Spacecraft Attitude and Orbit Control Systems
15-17 September, 1997,
ESTEC, Noordwijk, NL.

Seventh European Space Mechanisms and Tribology Symposium
1-3 October, 1997,
ESTEC, Noordwijk, NL.

Second Round Table on Micro- and Nano-Technology for Space
15-17 October, 1997,
ESTEC, Noordwijk, NL.

Conference on Systems Engineering - The Future.
11-13 November, 1997,
ESTEC, Noordwijk, NL.