Background

Established: 2023-09-27

Projects & Missions: DUSTER & Solar panel cleaning on the Martian surface. The development addresses the design and prototype integration of a pump system able to compress the very thin (7 mbar) Martian atmosphere and then use it as compressed gas to clean the solar panels and other lander / rover components contaminated from Martian dust on the surface of the planet. Furthermore, the project requires the design and construction of a dedicated ultra-light robotic system that should be used to direct the cleaning nozzle over the panels. AWE & Adaptable Wheels for Exploration. HTR has spent a great effort to completely restudy and redesign the concept of wheels made from metal. Since the AWE idea consisted in wheels of variable stiffness, a design that permitted such feature had to be elaborated and demonstrated in operation. To this end, a caterpillar-type wheel has been chosen, where the caterpillar segments adapt on the ground using antagonistic springs. The result is an extremely robust wheel (no risk of permanent deformation over sharp, rocky ground) with a capacity to modify its stiffness (by a factor of 4), therefore permitting the wheel to have a very large contact area on soft soil while it can obtain a significantly smaller contact area on hard surfaces, contributing to power economy. PREDATOR & Pre-Development of a Launch Adapter Ring Gripper (On-going project). HTR manufactured a robotic system that is composed of a robotic arm/gripper and a testbed. Testbed is used to provide a motion of a non-cooperative satellite, and the robotic arm/gripper attempts to catch it under various angles of attack and speeds.

Key Customers: HTR’s key customers and partners include European Union institutions and programmes, the European Space Agency (ESA), leading European space-industry companies, and upstream space OEMs requiring advanced robotic mobility, manipulation and in-orbit servicing technologies. The company supports institutional and industrial customers through the development and supply of planetary rover systems, adaptable wheel technologies, robotic arms, docking mechanisms and autonomous robotic platforms, as well as related engineering, prototyping and testing services. HTR has contributed to ESA-supported lunar mobility activities, including the European Moon Rover System and RAPID programmes, and participates in European collaborative projects with space-industry partners addressing autonomous space operations and Space Situational Awareness.

Affiliations/Memberships: si-Cluster HASI

Facilities: HTR operates integrated R&D, prototyping, manufacturing and testing facilities for advanced robotics and space mobility systems. Its infrastructure includes dedicated test platforms for rover endurance, wheel–soil interaction, drawbar pull and slope-climbing performance, as well as locomotion testbeds using different soil types for realistic terramechanics evaluation. For in-orbit robotics, HTR maintains satellite approach and docking test setups, including a multi-DOF zero-gravity simulation table supported by end-to-end dynamic simulation capabilities. In-house production facilities combine CNC machining and advanced 3D printing, enabling rapid prototyping, small-batch manufacturing and iterative development from concept through engineering and flight-model hardware. HTR operates facilities in Athens and a dedicated laboratory in Lianokladi, Lamia.