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Although the approach has been demonstrated in similar scenarios on Earth, its adaptation to space conditions needs further research. Here, we define a lava cave exploration mission concept, including four mission phases that are performed by a heterogeneous team of three robots equipped with the required hardware and software. This mission concept was validated in a relevant scenario, a lava cave on Lanzarote island (Spain), where the team of robots was able to build a three-dimensional model of the surrounding area and skylight, introducing a scout rover through rappelling and exploring the inner part of the cave. The results obtained demonstrate the proposed mission concept\u2019s feasibility, including three next-generation planetary exploration rovers that were coordinated to obtain meaningful information about the lava cave\u2019s external and internal morphology.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1126\/scirobotics.adj9699","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,8,13]],"date-time":"2025-08-13T17:58:17Z","timestamp":1755107897000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.34133\/aaas_crossmark","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":19,"title":["Cooperative robotic exploration of a planetary skylight surface and lava cave"],"prefix":"10.1126","volume":"10","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0191-8345","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Ra\u00fal","family":"Dom\u00ednguez","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Robotics Innovation Center, German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI), Robert-Hooke-Str. 1, 28359 Bremen, Germany."}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5819-8310","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Carlos","family":"P\u00e9rez-del-Pulgar","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Space Robotics Laboratory, Universidad de M\u00e1laga, C\/Dr. Ortiz Ramos, M\u00e1laga, Spain."}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5094-7396","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Gonzalo J.","family":"Paz-Delgado","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Space Robotics Laboratory, Universidad de M\u00e1laga, C\/Dr. Ortiz Ramos, M\u00e1laga, Spain."}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0005-6643-2564","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Fabio","family":"Polisano","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Space Applications Services, Zaventem, Belgium."}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8883-0097","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Jonathan","family":"Babel","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Robotics Innovation Center, German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI), Robert-Hooke-Str. 1, 28359 Bremen, Germany."}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Thierry","family":"Germa","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Magellium, Ramonville Saint Agne, France."}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5529-6094","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Iulia","family":"Dragomir","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"GMV Aerospace and Defence S.A., C\/Isaac Newton, 11 Tres Cantos, Madrid, Spain."}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9483-0539","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Val\u00e9rie","family":"Ciarletti","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"LATMOS\/IPSL, UVSQ Universit\u00e9 Paris-Saclay, Sorbonne Universit\u00e9, CNRS, Guyancourt, France."}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Anne-Claire","family":"Berthet","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Magellium, Ramonville Saint Agne, France."}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0006-3349-2437","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Leon Cedric","family":"Danter","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Robotics Innovation Center, German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI), Robert-Hooke-Str. 1, 28359 Bremen, Germany."}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Frank","family":"Kirchner","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Robotics Innovation Center, German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI), Robert-Hooke-Str. 1, 28359 Bremen, Germany."},{"name":"Faculty of Mathematics and Computer Science, University of Bremen, Bibliothekstrasse, 1, Bremen, Germany."}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"221","reference":[{"key":"e_1_3_2_2_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.robot.2017.04.020"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_3_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1038\/s41550-018-0676-9"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_4_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.earscirev.2020.103288"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_5_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"J. 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