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From 27th-29th June 2016 some system tests had been successfully carried out in the Robotics and Mechatronics Center at the DLR Oberpfaffenhofen. As part of the Moon-Analog-Mission it is to show that the robot LRU (Lightweight Rover Unit) is successful capable

• to grab autonomously four seismometer instrument packages from the lunar lander
• to place them consecutively in a basket on his back and
• to lay them on the floor at specific sites for a seismic survey

The central operations, namely „Grasping“, „Manipulation“ and „Repositioning“ were demonstrated during the system test with the real robot interacting with various preliminary subsystems.

View of the northern slope of the volcano

Our second 11 day multidisciplinary field excursion to this interesting island was organized by Jacobs University Bremen and DLR Berlin. This year the excursion was not only open to the whole of the ROBEX community but also to international participants. 1/3 of the participants were externals, came from abroad and ranged from senior undergraduates to PhD, postdocs and experienced researchers/trainers from the astronaut training center of ESA.
This year an extensive study on the seismic activity of Vulcano was part of the program. The seismic array of DLR which will be deployed during the 2017 Demo-Mission was tested near the accommodation, a sensor package for a mission to Mars was further evaluated and a hammer seismics profile of the Northern slope of the volcano was carried our with the help of all participants. The coastal waters were extensively sampled for pH, temperature, salinity and chlorophyll and new GIS maps were provided for the set of 11 variables which were analyzed. A newly purchased drone was launched many times to provide a detailed view of all study sites. The field work was complemented with daily lectures. The collected data is currently being collated into a GIS dataset which will be made publically available via PANGAEA.
One highlight was the remote (wireless) operation of a rover on the volcano from our “operational center” at the reception area of the hotel. The delay times of the communication of 5 seconds was a challenge for the trainees. Another concrete pressure housing of TU Dresden with camera was successfully tested at 460 m water depth.
One bachelor study on ocean acidification was supported by this years data while one bachelor thesis on last years excursion resulted in the invitation of the student to the NASA summer space camp at the Johnson Space Center in Houston. The summerschool will be offered again next year.