The Long-rangE Autonomous Rover for plaNetary Exploration (LEARNER) project, led by Prof. Genova and the SPRING lab, is developed through a temporary consortium of enterprises comprising Sapienza University, Next Ingegneria dei Sistemi, and Spark. The project aims to design a medium-sized rover prototype with advanced mobility and high autonomy for planetary exploration. Activities include system requirement definition, component testing, and final prototype validation in planetary analog environments, targeting a TRL of 5/6.

Funded by the Italian Space Agency, the Navigation for Interplanetary Microsatellites (NIM) project, led by Progetti Speciali Italiani Srl with SPRING as subcontractor, develops AOCS software for interplanetary microsatellites. It enables precise attitude control for antenna and altimeter alignment and autonomous orbit determination using radio and altimetric data. The project integrates attitude and orbit determination systems, with testing and validation on a breadboard, achieving a TRL 4 navigation system.

The Gecko Rendezvous Autonomous System & Pincher (GRASP) project focuses on the validation of a novel robotic capture technique for non-cooperative targets in microgravity, based on a gecko-inspired dry-adhesion gripper. The system combines a planar robotic arm, a tentacle-like adhesive end-effector, vision-based relative pose estimation, hardware design, and guidance, navigation, and control algorithms to demonstrate autonomous rendezvous and capture functions under representative microgravity conditions. The project addresses enabling technologies for future in-orbit servicing applications, including satellite inspection, repair, maintenance, refueling, debris capture, and on-orbit assembly. GRASP contributes to the development of autonomous robotic intervention capabilities aligned with ESA’s Automation and Robotics roadmap and Clean Space objectives, supporting the maturation of key technologies for safe and reliable manipulation of uncooperative space objects.