VaMEx was represented at the 21st International Planetary Probe Workshop (IPPW) in Williamsburg, USA, with our poster, “Will it work? Flexible Design and Initial Evaluation of a COTS-Mars UAV Navigation System”. The poster detailed our iterative Fault Tree Analysis-based design approach for a Mars UAV navigation system and presented initial performance results of the navigation filter. The early-stage application of the Fault Tree Analysis approach garnered significant interest during the poster session.
Additionally, a second poster related to VaMEx was contributed by future VaMEx project partner Clemens Riegler, titled “Downrange Capability Simulation of Autorotation vs. Propulsion”. This poster compared the flight ranges of classical propulsion, and autorotation landing systems. Clemens Riegler’s work earned him the “1st Place: Outstanding Student Poster Presentation” Award.
Max Hofacker and Clemens Riegler further represented VaMEx in their roles as session conveners for the Mars and Innovative Concepts for Exploration sessions, respectively. The IPPW provided a lot of opportunities for networking and exchange with international partners, including NASA, ESA, JAXA, JPL, and APL, facilitating discussions on current planetary exploration approaches and emerging trends.
The next IPPW will be held in Stuttgart, Germany, from June 23rd to June 27th, 2025.
