Max Robotics — Global Service Robot Directory + US Certification

About

Aaron Curtis is a visionary roboticist and planetary scientist whose work bridges the gap between extreme terrestrial exploration and the next generation of space missions. His primary research focuses on developing autonomous robotic systems for exploring hazardous, inaccessible environments—from lunar pits and icy ocean worlds to subterranean caves on Earth. Curtis is perhaps best known as the lead architect of the **Moon Diver** mission concept, a proposed Discovery-class mission to send a tethered rover into the Mare Tranquillitatis pit. This concept, detailed in his most-cited paper (32 citations), would allow direct investigation of exposed volcanic strata, offering an unprecedented window into the Moon’s secondary crust formation and volcanic history. His work on the **Enceladus Vent Explorer** (16 citations) extends this vision to icy moons, designing robots capable of descending into cryovolcanic vents to sample subsurface oceans. On Earth, Curtis has pioneered ice-climbing robots like the **IceWorm** and developed the **Ice Screw End Effector** for sample collection on glaciers. A key contributor to the DARPA Subterranean Challenge, he helped extend the NeBula autonomy solution for large-scale underground mapping. With over 90 combined citations, Curtis’s work is defining the future of in-situ planetary exploration, turning science fiction concepts into tangible mission architectures.