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​Marco Pavone: How autonomy is shaping the future of space exploration

Stanford’s Russ Altman and Marco Pavone discuss how we can apply what we’ve learned about autonomous vehicles here on Earth to the mysterious reaches of space.

space ship illustration

Illustration by Stefani Billings

The vast distances and extreme conditions of outer space make the prospects for remote control of exploratory vehicles extremely challenging, if not impossible. Stanford professor of aeronautics and astronautics, Marco Pavone, says the solution is to apply what we’ve learned about autonomous vehicles here on Earth to the mysterious reaches of space.

From vehicles that hop to swarms of robots to Gecko-inspired grippers, Pavone and host Russ Altman explore how autonomy is shaping the future of space exploration.

Learn more on the Future of Everything radio show.

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