{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,29]],"date-time":"2026-08-29T17:04:05Z","timestamp":1788023045979,"version":"build-2784847793"},"reference-count":51,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"1","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,2]],"date-time":"2026-01-02T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1767312000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"the International Joint Laboratory of Sustainable Manufacturing","award":["NG2024001"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["NG2024001"]}]},{"name":"the Opening Project of the Key Laboratory of Bionic Engineering (Ministry of Education), Jilin University of China","award":["KF2023005"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["KF2023005"]}]},{"name":"the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology","award":["G2023181009L"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["G2023181009L"]}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100001809","name":"the National Natural Science Foundation of China","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","award":["52275287"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["52275287"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100001809","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"crossref"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Biomimetics"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Space exploration is a major global focus, advancing knowledge and exploiting new resources beyond Earth. Bioinspired design\u2014drawing principles from nature\u2014offers systematic pathways to increase the capability and intelligence of space robots. Prior reviews have emphasized on-orbit manipulators or lunar rovers, while a comprehensive treatment across application domains has been limited. This review synthesizes bioinspired capability and intelligence for space exploration under varied environmental constraints. We highlight four domains: adhesion and grasping for on-orbit servicing; terrain-adaptive mobility on granular and rocky surfaces; exploration intelligence that couples animal-like sensing with decision strategies; and design methodologies for translating biological functions into robotic implementations. Representative applications include gecko-like dry adhesives for debris capture, beetle-inspired climbers for truss operations, sand-moving quadrupeds and mole-inspired burrowers for granular regolith access, and insect flapping-wing robots for flight under Martian conditions. By linking biological analogues to quantitative performance metrics, this review highlights how bioinspired strategies can significantly improve on-orbit inspection, planetary mobility, subsurface access, and autonomous decision-making. Framed by capability and intelligence, bioinspired approaches reveal how biological analogues translate into tangible performance gains for on-orbit inspection, servicing, and long-range planetary exploration.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/biomimetics11010030","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,2]],"date-time":"2026-01-02T11:11:46Z","timestamp":1767352306000},"page":"30","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":2,"title":["Bioinspired Design for Space Robots: Enhancing Exploration Capability and Intelligence"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"11","author":[{"given":"Guangming","family":"Chen","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing 210016, China"},{"name":"Key Laboratory of Bionic Engineering (Ministry of Education), Jilin University, Changchun 130025, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Xiang","family":"Lei","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing 210016, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Shiwen","family":"Li","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing 210016, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6466-4346","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Gabriel","family":"Lodewijks","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Engineering, Science and Environment, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW 2308, Australia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9933-2475","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Rui","family":"Zhang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Key Laboratory of Bionic Engineering (Ministry of Education), Jilin University, Changchun 130025, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0498-4791","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Meng","family":"Zou","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Key Laboratory of Bionic Engineering (Ministry of Education), Jilin University, Changchun 130025, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,2]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"87","DOI":"10.1007\/s11214-025-01214-1","article-title":"Unlocking the Potential of Caves in the Solar System: Targets for Life Detection, Deep-Space Exploration, and Human Outpost","volume":"221","author":"Pacelli","year":"2025","journal-title":"Space Sci. 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