Deployment of an instrument payload on a rock-climbing robot for subsurface life detection investigations

Introduction: High value astrobiology targets on other planetary surfaces may be located in extreme environments which could be inaccessible to conventional wheeled-rovers [1]. We integrated a suite of instruments with the LEMUR 3 rock-climbing robot (Figure 1) to detect the presence of biologic activity on a vertical surface in a lava tube cave and to demonstrate autonomous climbing operations within a subsurface environment to mature this robotic platform for potential future exploration of caves and other extreme terrain on planetary surfaces [2].