Landers, rovers and construction robots are designed for the lunar surface, and their methods already serve mines, disaster sites and remote work on Earth. Explore both with The Humanoid Group.
Space robots drive further while launch dates slip.
$220M awarded by NASA to Lunar Outpost for its Pegasus lunar terrain vehicle (NASA, 2026)
100 t/hr of moon dirt the Interlune-Vermeer excavator prototype can ingest (GeekWire, 2025)
25 cm accuracy of Perseverance's new self-locating system on Mars (NASA JPL, 2026)
Japan's MMX probe and its small Idefix rover get ready for Mars
· Launch
DLR says JAXA's Martian Moons eXploration probe is set to launch on October 19, 2026 (CEST), with a window to November 7. It carries Idefix, a 25-kilogram German-French rover planned to land on Phobos in 2029 and explore for 100 days, before samples return in 2031.
Why it matters: Idefix must drive in very weak gravity and temperatures from minus 170 to 70 degrees Celsius. A launch date is a plan, not a result, so watch whether the window holds.
China postpones Chang'e-7, its lunar south pole rover and hopper mission
· Launch
China's Chang'e-7 missed its August launch window after Tropical Depression Narra formed near the Wenchang site. State media said the probe cannot launch during this year's planned window. The mission pairs an orbiter and lander with a rover and a hopping robot to search for water ice.
Why it matters: Chang'e-7 is one of the most complex robotic lunar missions planned. Its delay shows how weather and orbital timing still decide schedules, so any new date should be treated as provisional.
Vermeer and Interlune widen their work on autonomous lunar diggers
· Partnership
Equipment maker Vermeer and lunar resource startup Interlune expanded their partnership to develop autonomous excavation and site-preparation technology for the Moon. They plan to deliver a mission-ready site-preparation tool by 2028, integrated with a lunar rover and tested on Earth before a demonstration mission.
Why it matters: Lunar site preparation borrows directly from quarry and earthworks machinery. Teams running autonomous equipment on rough ground at home can map routes, charging and comms gaps in Robot Finder first.
Moon to Mars Architecture— NASA. NASA's evolving blueprint for lunar and Mars exploration, with definition documents and yearly white papers.
Artemis Accords— NASA. Principles signatory nations adopt on transparency, space resources, deconfliction and heritage sites.
Lunar Surface Innovation Initiative— NASA Space Technology Mission Directorate. NASA's programme for lunar surface technologies, including power, robotics, excavation and dust mitigation.
Lunar Surface Technology— NASA. Overview of the power, autonomy, excavation, thermal and dust work NASA is funding for a lunar outpost.
Technology Transfer and Spinoffs— NASA. How NASA licenses patents, releases software and records commercial uses of space technology on Earth.