As 2024 begins, there is a lot to look forward to with the continuation of space exploration missions and new missions planned throughout the year. In fact, 2024 is shaping up to be a huge year for space exploration, from Earth’s surface to the lunar surface, Earth orbit to Mars, and a lot of places in between and beyond.
Over the past year, a number of exciting things have happened in space exploration. Motiv Space Exploration looks back at the year, from NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission returning a sample from an asteroid to the science…
JPL’s CADRE mission will demonstrate the use of an autonomous trio of rovers on the lunar surface. Motiv developed the mission operation and robotic hardware components. Each rover will operate without human control to map…
In a world first, the FCC has issued a fine against a satellite operator for failing to properly dispose of a spacecraft. To address space debris, robotic technology developed by Motiv can relocate or service…
Recently, researchers at Caltech demonstrated the feasibility of beaming energy from orbit to the surface of Earth.
Recently, researchers at Caltech demonstrated the feasibility of beaming energy from orbit to the surface of Earth.
Recently, researchers at Caltech demonstrated the feasibility of beaming energy from orbit to the surface of Earth.
Recently, researchers at Caltech demonstrated the feasibility of beaming energy from orbit to the surface of Earth.
On July 27, 2023, the Senate Commerce Committee advanced the Orbital Sustainability (ORBITS) Act to the full Senate.
In a recent interview with The Irish News Tech Podcast, our very own Tom McCarthy, VP of Business Development, discussed the crucial role of robotics in extending Artemis missions to the Moon.
Sputnik, launched in October 1957, was about the size of a basketball. Over the subsequent decades, satellites grew in size as they included more scientific and technological payloads.
In March, McKinsey & Co. published a report stating “Massive technological innovation is creating the opportunity for more capabilities to be deployed above Earth for the benefit of those on Earth.”
At the beginning of the year, after spending nearly 700 sols on the surface of Mars, the 2020 Perseverance rover completed its first sample depot.
In March of this year, NASA unveiled the spacesuit that astronauts onboard the Artemis III mission to the surface of the Moon will be wearing.
As service providers look for new ways to provide customers with more effective and far-reaching coverage, utilizing existing cellular frequencies transmitted from satellites in low-Earth orbit (LEO) moved one step closer to becoming a reality
The U.S. Space Force has announced a $1.6 million contract through its SpaceWERX research arm to demonstrate the construction of a 3-axis stabilized satellite on the Arkisys Port Module, a hexagonal long-duration space-based platform.
Early in the development of space exploration capabilities, the U.S. government began to rely on private companies for cost-effective solutions to complex engineering challenges.
To assist with reducing the number of satellites that are unoperational, space agencies around the world are looking into options to perform on-orbit servicing, which will include repairs, refueling, and redeployment.
The environments beyond Earth’s atmosphere are extreme, with temperature fluctuations that can expose hardware to cold unseen in Earth-based operations.
As NASA wound down the Space Shuttle Program and began to ramp up its Artemis Program while continuing to service the International Space Station, the space agency began to look to commercial companies to provide…
For space missions, whether robotic or manned, to be successful, it is necessary for things to be able to move. On robotic missions, wheels need to be turned and arms extended. During manned missions, solar…
The Artemis I mission ended successfully on December 11, 2022, nearly a month after NASA’s SLS rocket blasted the Orion capsule on a trajectory that took it beyond the Moon and back to prepare for…
Motiv Space Systems announces it has been selected by the US Space Force’s innovation wing, SpaceWERX, for a Phase 1 STTR to develop robotically aided Active Debris Remediation services. Motiv is excited to expand the…
As NASA continues to prepare for long-term exploration of the lunar south pole with its Artemis Program, tests of the advanced robotic systems that will be needed are beginning.
The use of smartphones has increased rapidly since Apple first introduced the iPhone in 2007. Being able to access the internet from anywhere a cell phone signal reaches has enabled widespread communication, shopping, data transfer,…
As humans, we have always desired to explore our surroundings. We have also spent thousands of years looking up into the night sky at the Moon, wondering what that luminous white body held.
Since the launch of Sputnik in 1957, space around Earth has grown increasingly cluttered. From spent rocket stages to pieces of satellites, as of May 2021, the U.S. Department of Defense Space Surveillance Network was…
The world in which we live poses challenges to the future of humanity. There are a number of factors outside of our control, as history has shown through extinction events that altered life on our…
From October 24th – 26th, not only will we be attending ASCEND Las Vegas, but we’ll be bringing a real live (ok, well not technically live, but you get the point) xLink robotic arm with…
With NASA’s announcement of funding for swimming robotic swarms to explore oceans on other solar system bodies, the importance of distributed space robots has become more apparent. As reported, the $600,000 in funding will seek…
NASA’s Mars 2020 Perseverance rover has successfully completed over a year and half exploring the Martian surface. A big part of the mission is the collection of samples.
Have you ever thought about exploring beyond the Earth? Mankind has explored our planet for tens of thousands of years – it is in our very nature to be explorers.
As NASA continues its plans to return humans to the Moon, the space agency recently went through the final preparations for the inaugural launch of their Space Launch System (SLS) rocket.
Since the middle of the 20th century, governments have played the primary role in space exploration. However, over the past 20 years, a transition from government to private spaceflight has been gradually developing, and commercialization…
Earlier this year, both NASA and the Chinese equivalent (CMSA) announced that they would be opening their respective space stations up for commercial use. The International Space Station (ISS), which is actively managed by NASA,…
As NASA’s Perseverance rover approaches its 500th Sol on Mars, it continues to return images and science data. To-date, nearly 300,000 images have been returned for analysis by scientists and engineers working with JPL. Those…
The White House’s request for NASA’s 2023 budget is sizable. $ 26 billion, an 8% increase over the agency’s 2022 budget. What’s NASA planning to accomplish with those dollars? Let’s take a look.
A few weeks back, the White House released a 10-page PDF titled “In-Space Servicing, Assembly, and Manufacturing National Strategy”. Or, more commonly, ISAM. A 10-page PDF might not seem like a big deal, but the…
Imagine launching a delicate spacecraft through a field of orbital debris, traveling at speeds of over 15,000 miles per hour. You just imagined a perfectly normal spacecraft launch. This, of course, is not a far-fetched…
Today, every company or organization that plans to launch a satellite is faced with a question: Is it better to build or buy? Traditionally, developing and launching a satellite was largely any in-house operation that…
On February 22, 2022, the Defense Department announced that the United States, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom signed a document calling for greater cooperation in order to prevent future conflicts…
When the Space Age began in the 1950s, much of the technology being sent into space was developed by the same companies heading the pioneering missions. For example, NASA built and launched Apollo, Voyager, and…
From commercial space races to more than 130 launches, 2021 was a year of exciting space programs. But with a new year comes new possibilities — and there’s a lot to look forward to in…
On the morning of November 15, 2021, seven astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) awoke to the news that they were headed directly into an area littered with dangerous space junk. Any collision with…
Motiv Space Systems has announced a major contract with NASA that will power the future of space exploration and innovation in extreme environments.
Every journey into space starts with a brave, new idea: to put a person on the Moon, to find evidence of life on Mars, to find the next home for humans…But none of these ideas…
Motiv Space Systems announced today it has been awarded a contract under the Defense Innovation Unit’s (DIU’s) Modularity for Space Systems Program (M4SS) together with sub-contractor Blue Origin. The contract leverages Motiv’s advanced space robotics…
Pink Floyd once sang, “I’ll see you on the dark side of the Moon.” But dark side or not, the Moon has been relatively dormant in terms of U.S. aerospace. In fact, the U.S. hasn’t…
Mars is red and rocky, with an ice-cold atmosphere and dust storms that can cover the entire surface. At first glance, the planet named after the ancient Roman God of War seems like an inhospitable…
Since touching down on Mars in February 2021, NASA’s Perseverance rover has been busy – it has driven 1.8 miles (a record for the longest rover drive in a Martian day!), taken more than 100,000…
The space economy is headed for a boom. With growing interests (and financing) from venture capitalists, capital investments and the government, it’s projected that the space economy could become a trillion-dollar field by 2040. Recently,…
Today marks the one-year anniversary of NASA’s Perseverance rover landing on Mars. After launching in July 2020 and undergoing a 290-million-mile journey, the rover touched down in Mars’ Jezero Crater in February 2021. In the…
From the Moon to Mars, robotic systems to astronauts and beyond, space exploration is rapidly expanding across our solar system. 2021 brought us the landing of the Perseverance rover on Mars, suborbital spaceflights, and a…
The CIA is the next organization in a line of many to invest in commercial space. This U.S. intelligence agency is just the latest in a string of government organizations that are looking to adopt…
Space tugs have been around since the 1960/70s when NASA proposed a reusable ground launch vehicle concept. This concept was part of the Space Transportation System (STS), which was supposed to reduce the cost of…
NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) will send small robotic landers, rovers, and other new technology to the moon via contract transportation services. Learn about about this initiative and supporting technology such as COLDArm from…
The Artemis Mission is a series of missions that will establish a base camp on the Earth’s moon to support longer lunar expeditions with the goal of human exploration of Mars. Learn how Motiv is…
The Perseverance rover is the first spacecraft to successfully pack up a rock sample from another planet. Learn how the robotic arm is a critical part of the Mars Sample Return mission and finding life…
How New Technology Is Improving Space’s Ecosystem (Pasadena, California – October 1, 2021) With all the money and time spent on building a satellite, it can be painful when they break down in space. But…
The Newest Space Race – Space Logistics (Pasadena, California – September 17, 2021) While we’ve been watching billionaires launch space crafts of their own, another space race has been taking place – space logistics. This…
Space Junk – A Birds Eye View (Pasadena, California – August 6, 2021) As billionaires launch their own spaceships and modern-day space exploration grows, space junk is becoming a real issue. Tom McCarthy, Motiv Co-Founder…
Want to Work With NASA or JPL? 4 Tips (Pasadena, California – July 16, 2021) There’s probably not an engineer in existence who hasn’t at least thought about what it would be like to work…
Motiv Reaches Into The Future With COLDArm (Pasadena, California – June 28, 2021) Concluding our four-part series on the history of space robotics – and Motiv’s role in their development, with RoboMantis, xLink™, and the…
Mars 2020 & Motiv – The Advanced Robotics Of Perseverance (Pasadena, California – June 21, 2021) Our four-part blog series on the history of space robotics continues with a look at the arm of Perseverance.…
Meet xLink™ – A Robotic Arm System Developed By Motiv (Pasadena, California – June 14, 2021) Continuing our four-part blog series on the history of space robotics – and Motiv Space Systems’ contributions to the…
How Robots Built for Mars Can Improve Robots Built for Earth (Pasadena, California – June 11, 2021) Innovations from space research often find a use back on Earth (can we offer anyone a glass of…
Welcoming Motiv’s New CTO: Edward Tunstel (Pasadena, California – June 9, 2021) Motiv is thrilled to announce our new Chief Technology Officer: Dr. Edward “Eddie” Tunstel. If you’re in the world of space robotics, you…
How Motiv Brought Space-Based Robotics Down To Earth (Pasadena, California – June 7, 2021) Across four parts, this blog series will look at the history of Motiv Space Systems and its contributions to field of…
Perseverance’s Robotic Arm Brings Mars Within Reach of Geologists (Pasadena, California – June 4, 2021) Understanding Mars’ geology is one of the four goals (1) of the Perseverance mission, so the rover is a self-contained…
Robotics Industry Creating Its “Silicon Valley” in Pasadena (Pasadena, California – May 28, 2021) Five leaders of Pasadena’s robotics community took part in a roundtable discussion as part of the Route 66 Innovation Series. Moderator…
News COLDArm Will Bring Advanced Robotic Engineering To The Moon (Pasadena, California – May 24, 2021) To conclude our series on robotic arms for every mission, let’s turn from Mars to the Moon. In Greek…
The Robotic Arm of Perseverance – Exploring Martian Terrain (Pasadena, California – May 21, 2021) Our series on robotic arms for every mission continues with a look at the Mars 2020 Perseverance rover. Having arrived…
Arm of Opportunity – Exploring Mars By Rover (Pasadena, California – May 19, 2021) Next in our series on robotic arms for every mission, we look at the arm of the Opportunity rover. Twin robotic…
Robots On Mars? The Curiosity Rover Is Armed To Explore (Pasadena, California – May 17, 2021) Continuing our look at robotic arms for every mission, now we turn to the Curiosity rover, which landed on…
The Mars Rover Is And Is Not Like a News Truck – WMAQ Chicago (Pasadena, California – May 14, 2021) When NBC 5’s Charlie Wojciechowski introduced the Mars Perseverance Rover, he made an apt comparison.…
Insight Into The Robotic Arm Of The Mars InSight Lander (Pasadena, California – May 10, 2021) Robotic Arms For Every Mission, A Five-Part Series In the future, the robotic arms reaching into new space…
Designing for the Challenges of Operations on Mars (Pasadena, California – May 7, 2021) The other day, Motiv’s VP of Business Development, Tom McCarthy, appeared on WDUN to talk with Bill Maine about the challenges…
From Our Cleanroom to the Red Planet – Motiv on NASA’s Third Rock Radio (Pasadena, California – May 3, 2021) Unless you’re a NASA employee or a serious space geek enthusiast, you might not be…
COLDArm Targeting 2024 Moon Landing: Interview with Electronics Point (Pasadena, California – April 30, 2021) Recently, Motiv’s VP of Business Development, Tom McCarthy, sat down with Ingrid Fadelli from Electronics Point. The pair discussed the…
“Success Comes Down to Mitigating Power Consumption” – ASME on Motiv’s Lunar Robotic Arm (Pasadena, California – April 26, 2021) There are thousands of factors that go into a successful lunar mission. Planning. Engineering. Design,…
Future Robotic Arms Won’t Need to be Heated, Thanks to COLDArm (Pasadena, California – April 23, 2021) Space is an unforgiving place, not only for humans but for robots too. At extremely low temperatures, many…
Aviation Week Reveals New COLDArm Specs (Pasadena, California – April 19, 2021) The other week, Aviation Week dug into our work on COLDArm, and its lunar applications. At the Moon, NASAʼs stepping stone to…
Aviation Today: “The Robotic Arm and Instruments That Will Drill, Analyze and Visualize Mars” (Pasadena, California – April 16, 2021) About a month ago, NASA’s Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover landed on the Red Planet. Since…
“Technologies That Can Operate at -180°C” – Motiv Interviewed by the Associated Press (Pasadena, California – April 12, 2021) Tom McCarthy, our VP of Business Development, sat down virtually with the Associated Press to discuss…
Motiv on the Robot Report Podcast: “Right on the Edge of Liquid Nitrogen Temperatures” (Pasadena, California – April 9, 2021) When we talk about Motiv’s COLDArm project that we’re working on with JPL, it’s easy…
Motiv in the WSJ: The Pentagon Wants Autonomous Vehicles (Pasadena, California – April 5, 2021) Motiv’s Vice President of Business Development, Tom McCarthy, was quoted in a recent Wall Street Journal article that discussed the…
Aerospace Manufacturing & Design: Tech Like COLDArm Critical to Artemis Program Success (Pasadena, California – April 2, 2021) NASA’s Artemis Program is planning to land a woman and man on the moon by 2024, and…
How Will We Prepare the Way for Human Presence on the Moon by 2028? A Look at NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (Pasadena, California – March 26, 2021) We’re sure you’ve heard of it, but…
TechRepublic: Motiv Robotic Technology Forges a Path for Human Exploration (Pasadena, California – March 19, 2021) TechRepublic’s reporter, R. Dallon Adams, spoke with Motiv’s VP of Business Development, Tom McCarthy, to discuss our role in…
From 1969 to 2024: We’re Going Back to the Moon, But This Time We’re Bringing COLDArm (Pasadena, California – March 15, 2021) The Artemis Program: It’s all about the Moon The Artemis program is NASA’s…
Perseverance’s First Flex (Pasadena, California – March 9, 2021) Which of us hasn’t taken a selfie while flexing? 144 million miles away, NASA’s Mars 2020 Perseverance rover just did the same thing. Only, instead…
Advancing Next-Gen Space Robotics: Motiv’s “Spacebreaking” Contributions to the Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover (Pasadena, California – March 5, 2021) The robotic arm of the 2020 Mars Perseverance rover about to touch down on Mars was…
The View from Mars (Pasadena, California – March 1, 2021) Three days into its mission, the Mars 2020 Perseverance rover captured a 360-degree panoramic view of its surroundings, in Jezero Crater – presumed to be…
COLDArm v. the Robotic Arm of the Mars Perseverance Rover (Pasadena, California – February 26, 2021) As of last week, the Mars Perseverance rover has completed its 140-million-mile journey and heading to its final destination—the…
Motiv Technology to Reach Mars as part of Mars 2020 Mission (Pasadena, California – February 18, 2021) After traveling for about 7 months and nearly 300 million miles, NASA’s Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover is scheduled…
“Robots integral to exploration of Mars” – Motiv Interviewed on Good Day Chicago (Pasadena, California – February 12, 2021) If you’re a fan of Good Day Chicago, you may have caught Motiv’s VP of Business…
DesignNews Reports on Motiv’s COLDArm Robot and its Significance to Future Moon Settlements (Pasadena, California – February 4, 2021) DesignNews recently reported on Motiv Space Systems’ COLDArm. A robotic arm that functions in extreme temperatures…
Motiv Space Systems is Engineering the First Robotic Arm to Survive the Extreme Cold of the Moon (Pasadena, California – January 27, 2021) PASADENA, California, January 27, 2021 — Motiv Space Systems, in partnership with…
WIRED Highlights Motiv’s Enhanced Robotic Arm in Ambitious Mars Mission (Pasadena, California – January 22, 2021) This February, NASA’s latest Mars Rover is set to land on the red planet equipped with Motiv’s new robotic…
TechRepublic Looks at Motiv’s Role in Moon & Mars Missions (Pasadena, California – November 25, 2020) Recently, TechRepublic profiled Motiv Space System’s role in NASA’s Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover, and in the Artemis lunar program.…
Los Angeles Business Journal Discusses the xLink with Our CEO, Chris Thayer (Pasadena, California – October 20, 2020) Los Angeles Business Journal recently sat down with our co-founder and CEO, Chris Thayer, to discuss our…
Motiv Brings Space-Grade Robotics to Industrial Sector – Via Robotics & Automation (Pasadena, California – October 15, 2020) We often talk about how we use principles of ground-based robotics to build cost-effective space robotics, but…
Pasadena Economic Development’s Interview with Our CEO About Motiv’s Past and Future (Pasadena, California – September 28, 2020) Pasadena Economic Development’s Future Yourself Here team interviewed Chris Thayer, our CEO and co-founder, to discuss how…
A Robot on Every Mission: The Path To and Future of the xLink (Pasadena, California – August 19, 2020) Since the launch of the National Aeronautics and Space Act in 1958, the space industry has…
Pisces: From Earth to Mars: Motiv’s Path to Commercialize Space (Pasadena, California – August 12, 2020) The Pacific International Space Center for Exploration Systems (PISCES) just ran an article by our Chief Robotics Engineer, Chris…
Mars Rover Set to Launch with Motiv Space Systems Technology Onboard (Pasadena, California – July 30, 2020) The Mars 2020 Perseverance rover, set to launch as soon as this week, will be carrying a robotic…
Moving the Decimal Point for New Space (Pasadena, California – Thursday, July 30, 2020) Motiv Space Systems is committed to building tools that will enable visionary ideas for “new space” to succeed. The vision is…
Motiv Featured in the Robot Report Podcast (Pasadena, California – July 29, 2020) Motiv’s own CEO, Chris Thayer, was the featured guest in the July 1st episode of the Robot Report’s weekly podcast. Listen now…
