Overview
PolAres is an interdisciplinary programme of the Austrian Space Forum in cooperation with international partners to develop strategies for human-robotic interaction procedures and to emphasise planetary protection, in preparation for a future human-robotic Mars surface expedition.
"PolAres is set up on the vision to provide a profound impact on the efforts to prepare for the exploration of the Solar System, by both helping to enable a Human Mars Mission through stimulating public awareness and testing out concepts and technologies that might help making such a mission safer and more effective."
During four consecutive years, the interaction between analogue astronauts and an advanced robotic component will be investigated. The programme shall follow a staggered approach: First, a scouting phase shall identify possible Mars analogue sites in Europe and the neighbouring Arctic. In a second step, a stratospheric/mesospheric balloon shall be constructed and launched both as a training project and as a precursor for the Rover phase (phase 3). In a synergetic approach, hardware components like sensors and navigation elements shall be tested before being implemented on the Rover, which shall form the core of phase 3. In a fourth step (phase 4) the man-machine interface between the rover and the analogue astronaut shall be tested, including interactivity requirements development and investigation.