Planetary defence, robotics and autonomy

We design autonomous spacecraft and robotics systems that rendezvous with asteroids, and test missions on Earth’s most advanced microgravity floor, strengthening global planetary defence and opening new opportunities in planetary resources.

Zero-G AstroLab facility

The University of Liverpool’s Zero-G AstroLab is a dedicated microgravity test facility for spacecraft robotics and guidance, navigation and control (GNC) systems.

State-of-the-art precision epoxy floor testbed

At the heart of the Zero-G AstroLab is a 5 × 2.5 m Precision Epoxy air-bearing floor designed for the high-fidelity emulation of microgravity dynamics. Independently verified laser-tracker measurements show an overall flatness of 0.27 mm across the entire operational area, with a mean deviation of only 0.041 mm from the best-fit plane and a maximum inclination of approximately 0.022 mm/m.

This ultra-flat surface enables free-floating robotic platforms to accurately reproduce spacecraft motion for autonomous navigation, rendezvous, docking, and asteroid exploration experiments.

^{One-of-a-kind facility. The University of Liverpool's Zero-G AstroLab features a near-zero friction floor, one of its kind in Europe and unique to the UK.}

Combined with a Qualisys motion-capture system, the facility enables high-fidelity hardware-in-the-loop proximity-operations testing under realistic microgravity dynamics.

The floor has been independently certified by metrology specialists by Manchester Metrology, with documented measurements of flatness, gravity vector alignment and surface roughness. Full certification data are available on request.

The laboratory was cofounded by the UKRI-FLF Grant MR/W009498/1, awarded to Dr Stefania Soldini (leading academic) and the University of Liverpool.

The specialist epoxy floor was supplied by Precision Epoxy.

Granite testbed

The experimental area is equipped with a Mitutoyo Grade 0 granite table (2 x 1.2 m) which provides additional precision testing capability, enabling multiple projects to run in parallel. The granite table has the option to be mounted on passive Thorlabs vibration isolating legs.

^{Grade 0 Mitutoyo granite plate.}

The laboratory comprises a 60 m² space, including a rapid prototyping and payload assembly area alongside an integrated testing facility. The room is equipped with an enclosed 3D printer, a soldering station and a workstation simulator which allows to directly communicate with the BEATLE platforms for remote control and telemetry data acquisition.

Research

As space becomes more crowded and missions venture further from Earth, spacecraft must make decisions independently, operate safely around hazards, and respond in real time. The Zero-G AstroLab was created to answer a critical question for the future of exploration: how do we build spacecraft that can think and act autonomously while protecting our planet?

Founded and led by Dr Stefania Soldini, the lab is a unique microgravity simulation facility that enables hardware-in-the-loop testing of guidance, navigation and control systems before flight. Home to the UK’s flattest floor and one of a kind in Europe, free-floating robotic platforms and high-precision motion capture, researchers recreate the physics of space to test spacecraft manoeuvres, rendezvous operations and asteroid landings in realistic conditions.

The team develops intelligent CubeSats, autonomous proximity operations, and advanced algorithms for navigation around complex bodies such as asteroids. These capabilities support applications including active debris removal, in-orbit servicing, swarm robotics, and deep-space exploration.

^{Robotic manufacturing area and ground station simulator.}

Through projects such as REMORA (REndezvous Mission for Orbital Reconstruction of Asteroids), a fleet of self-driving CubeSats designed to attach to and track asteroids, and partnerships with missions including the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)’s Hayabusa2, the NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test, and the European Space Agency (ESA)’s Hera and Ramses missions, University of Liverpool research directly strengthens global planetary defence.

By combining robotics, astrodynamics and autonomy, the Zero-G AstroLab ensures spacecraft are smarter, safer, and ready to operate wherever exploration takes us.

International planetary defence missions

University of Liverpool research directly supports international efforts to protect Earth from asteroid threats. Dr Stefania Soldini is a core team member of missions led by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA), contributing expertise to Hayabusa2, Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) and Hera / Ramses missions.

For Hayabusa2, Dr Soldini served as Principal Investigator for solar conjunction operations, testing autonomous navigation and guidance in the challenging real-space environment, when communication delays and signal disruption demand greater spacecraft independence. These flight-tested strategies now inform experiments reproduced within the Zero-G AstroLab, where similar conditions are recreated and validated on Earth.

For DART, the world’s first kinetic impactor experiment, the team modelled the ejecta produced by the spacecraft’s impact and analysed how debris and solar radiation pressure altered the asteroid’s trajectory. This work helped interpret mission data and assess how deflection strategies can be used to safeguard our planet.

Contacts

Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, School of Engineering.