SKYWALKER tests robotic crawling at ESTEC


The SKYWALKER team's robotic arm, mounted on the MANTIS platform, autonomously inserts itself into the anchor point

As part of the ESA Academy Experiments programme, the SKYWALKER student team from Aalborg University, Denmark, successfully tested a smart algorithm to help a robotic arm on a floating platform move in microgravity-like conditions. The test campaign took place in late September 2025 at ESA ESTEC’s Orbital Robotics Lab. This work is paving the way for future robots to operate independently in space—building, repairing, and maintaining structures.