SpaceHopper – ETH Zürich

There are millions of asteroids orbiting the sun at the moment, many of which are rich in valuable materials, and many are objects of great scientific interest. But only a few have ever been explored, partly because the space technology today is not fit for asteroid exploration which comes with unique challenges and calls for unique solutions. And we seek to be just that. SpaceHopper is a revolutionary legged mobility robot  specially designed for controlled low gravity locomotion. We think this is the missing element between humanity and the uncharted horizons of our solar system.

SpaceHopper is a student project of ETH Zurich. Our team consists of 8 students from ETH and 2 students from ZHAW.

Our Goals

Space exploration is a huge task to embark upon, coming with a long list of challenges to face. The project’s main goal for 2021-2022 is to develop a robot for traversing in extreme low gravity environments. To realize this, we will show on self-developed test rigs that the robot is able to hop large distances, land on a predetermined point, control its attitude mid-air, can carry a scientific payload, and stand back up after a failed landing.

The Electronics

The goal of the electronics subsystem for the first year is to enable the mechanical and software related capabilities of low-gravity motion.

The electronics stack comprises lithium-ion batteries, a battery management system, a custom-built PCB that houses the sensor interfaces of the robot and it’s power distribution system, and an onboard computer.