UCLA Unveils SPLITTER, a Tethered Jumping Robot for Space Exploration
A new robotic system capable of planetary exploration through tethered jumping has been developed by researchers at the Robotics and Mechanisms Laboratory (RoMeLa) at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). The robot, named SPLITTER (Space and Planetary Limbed Intelligent Tether Technology Exploration Robot), has been designed as a modular, multi-robot system composed of two quadrupedal robots connected by a tether. The system, expected to be presented at the IEEE Aerospace Conference (AeroConf) 2025, has been designed to navigate low-gravity environments such as the moon and asteroids. Reports indicate that the robotic system can perform successive jumps while collecting scientific data, providing an alternative to conventional planetary rovers and drones.
SPLITTER’s Design and Capabilities
According to the study published on the arXiv preprint server, SPLITTER consists of two Hemi-SPLITTER robots connected by a tether, forming a dumbbell-like structure. The tether enables mobility and stability during mid-air travel, eliminating the need for additional attitude control mechanisms such as gas thrusters or reaction wheels. The system has been designed to dynamically alter its inertia by adjusting limb positions and tether length, ensuring stability during flight. The development of SPLITTER was driven by the limitations of traditional planetary rovers, which are often slow and cumbersome, and the impracticality of drones due to the absence of atmospheric conditions on celestial bodies like the moon and asteroids.
Mechanism Behind SPLITTER’s Motion
Reports suggest that SPLITTER incorporates an inertial morphing mechanism based on a Model Predictive Controller (MPC) to regulate its orientation during mid-air movements. The concept is based on the Tennis Racket Theorem, also known as the Dzhanibekov effect, which describes how objects with asymmetric inertia undergo spontaneous rotational flips. Yusuke Tanaka, lead author of the study, told Tech Xplore that the technique allows aggressive stabilization of the robot’s mid-air flight through controlled inertia adjustments. It has been suggested that this method significantly enhances the efficiency of planetary exploration by ensuring stability without relying on external force mechanisms.
Potential Applications and Future Research
The research team has indicated that SPLITTER could be deployed in planetary exploration missions as a swarm of robots, allowing extensive and unstructured terrain to be efficiently traversed. The tether mechanism could also enable one unit to explore craters or caves while the other remains anchored, providing support. Dennis Hong, director of RoMeLa and principal investigator of the project, told Tech Xplore that ongoing research is focusing on improving the hardware, including new actuators and sensing mechanisms. Future studies are expected to further validate the inertial morphing mechanism through high-fidelity simulations, with the long-term goal of enhancing SPLITTER’s capabilities for real-world space applications.
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Astronomers international team has employed various satellites and telescopes for performing multiwavelength observations of a supernova remnant known as SNR J0450.4-7050. The result that scientists got after an observational campaign, published on June 18, 2025, on the preprint server arXiv, gained new insights into the properties of this remnant, and observed that it is much larger than thought in the past. Supernova remnants (SNRs) are expanded structures resulting from the explosion of a supernova. It usually lasts for several hundred thousand years before the time it disperses into the interstellar medium.
Multiwavelength Observations Reveal New Details of SNR J0450.4-7050
As per the study by NASA, observations by the scientists indicate that SNRs contain the ejected expansion of material from the explosion and other interstellar material swept by the passage of the shockwave from the star that exploded. SNR studies beyond the Milky Way are important for comprehending the feedback in different evolutionary phases and gaining valuable insights into the local ISM. The Large Magellanic Cloud is the galaxy that has its SNR population explored in depth.
Importance of Studying Supernova Remnants Beyond the Milky Way
The recent observations reveal that SNR J0450.4-7050, a large supernova remnant in the LMC having physical dimensions of 332 by 244 light years, is estimated to have the remnants of around 45,000 years old. Scientists named it Veliki, which means large in Serbian. It also showcases the complex filamentary morphology with different inner and outer shell structures.
Discovery of Veliki: A Large, Aged Remnant in the Large Magellanic Cloud
An astronomer’s group led by Zachary J. Smeaton decided to take a closer observation of SNR J0450.4−7050 by the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder and MeerKAT radio telescope. The SNR showed a high radial surface brightness with one of the lowest average radio spectral indices, with similar remnants.
Unusual Radio Properties Suggest Veliki is a Fully Radiative SNR
These unusual features, according to the scientists, give the prediction that Veliki is mainly a radiative SNR with a high shock compression ratio. This states about the non-thermal spectrum and higher surface brightness and emissions. Further observations of the surrounding environment are needed to confirm the hypothesis with an understanding of the remnants’ nature in a better way.
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