A space mission faces severe constraints which limit the design in the architecture of a system. The space qualification is required to avoid potential failures caused by severe environments like deep space or a planet´s surface.

The analysis tries to give an approach for a design procedure and assurance of a robotic system within a space mission. The case study is the exploration of a lunar crater in the South Pole: the extreme environment (eternal darkness, unpredictable environment) and so, physical and kinematical constraints (slope greater than 30º) is an exemplar scenario to test the system and his components.

In particular, the arguments are the following:

Definition of space qualification with reference to the testing for product assurance procedures. Case of space robots

State of the art for the microgravity (Moon and Mars) rovers.

Case study (South Pole lunar crater´s descent) definition: Mission Requirements´ definition: System Requirements´ definition.

Analysis of the rover as a system with his subsystems (Mechanical, Thermal, Electronics?) and overlook on a Failure Mode and Effects Analysis. (The rover reference is Scorpion).

Short Analysis of planning for the rover?s tasks and potential risks.

Strategies to reduce risks during the mission. They are introduced three different ideas (single enhanced Scorpion, single reconfigurable rover, multi-robot configuration) Potential investigation areas for future researches.

Since this is an introduction to my PhD research, it doesn?t contain conclusions or scientific results, but it takes questions how to find a coherent methodology for robotic research in the space domain.