High-Fidelity Lunar Surface Simulation Platform : A Reproducible Excavation Interaction Testbed for ISRU at the Lunar South Pole
Year: 2026
Type: conference-paper
Abstract: The development and validation of autonomous lunar surface systems, particularly those supporting In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU), depend critically on the availability of realistic and accessible ground-based simulation environments. However, many existing lunar simulators remain limited by insufficient physical realism, reliance on proprietary software, or a narrow focus on visualization and perception, with limited support for repeatable evaluation of excavation operations under lunar gravity and extreme south polar illumination conditions. These limitations restrict systematic assessment of rover mobility, sensing, and excavation workflows in an integrated, closed-loop setting prior to mission deployment. To address this gap, this paper presents a novel lunar surface simulation platform developed using ROS 2 Humble and Gazebo, designed to support rover-based excavation mission workflows in the Moon’s south polar region. The proposed framework provides high-fidelity representation of key lunar environmental characteristics, including terrain morphology, low-gravity dynamics, and extreme lighting conditions, in direct support of ISRU research. A simulated rover equipped with stereo vision and inertial sensing (IMU) is integrated to enable systematic testing of autonomous navigation and excavation behaviors within a ROS 2-based execution environment. The primary contribution of this work lies in combining a high-fidelity, mission-relevant lunar environment and closed-loop rover simulation with a computationally efficient excavation interaction layer that supports repeatable excavation scenarios and measurable excavation outcomes, while maintaining a modular, hardware-agnostic ROS 2 architecture and relying exclusively on free and publicly available tools. This approach addresses a persistent gap between high-end simulators that are not broadly accessible and open tools that often lack integrated excavation workflow support. A representative case study demonstrates rover-based excavation of icy regolith within a shadowed polar crater, illustrating end-to-end operation under extreme illumination within the proposed simulation framework. Overall, the platform contributes toward more accessible and practical lunar robotics simulation, providing a robust open testbed to support mission planning and autonomy development for future lunar surface operations.
Institution: University of Strathclyde
Language: English
Subfield: Automotive Engineering
Field: Engineering
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7204671966