Journey is a Tether and Robot system that allows two astronauts to travel on the surface of Phobos simultaneously while being attached to the SEV via a 200m tether cable. The Robot acts as an anchoring device which flies to its target destination, pulling the tether along its path and anchors its legs 60cm below the surface, compressing up to 11400kgs of soil. The astronaut positions itself on one of the tether lifts which transports them across the surface towards the robot. Speed, orientation and direction can be controlled with the joystick on the armrest of the lift. Once mission is complete, the Robot de-anchors, flies back and attaches itself to the back of the SEV.

The project was completed in collaboration with Jin Yoo, Enok Oh and Adrian Trevino.



Objective: Design an asteroid exploration system for NASA astronauts to travel across the surface of Phobos,

Context: Landing foot on Mars has always been the long term goal for scientists and astronauts an NASA. The mission is particularly difficult due to the duration as well as the large gravitational pull of Mars that inhibits all matters from leaving its atmosphere (without the setup and resources on earth). However, scientists believe that Phobos, the moon of Mars, may be a good place to set foot on first. The properties of Phobos is similar to that of an asteroid, it has a mean radius of 11km and orbits 6000km from the Martian surface. A human base-camp could be set up on the surface of Phobos, allowing astronauts and remotely operated robots to study the samples on Phobos and provide valuable data for the scientists preparing for the Mission to Mars back on Earth.

Research: Challenges



Model Making and Process Photos 

Final Design (CAD)


Operation and Exploration Procedure


System Advantages