Essential Technologies and Concepts for Massive Space Exploration: Challenges and Opportunities

The space industry is growing at a tremendous pace generating attraction both from the industry and academia. Various governmental and industrial institutions are embarking on new programs aiming for more exploration of the industry. The impact of recent advances in the control system, computational technology, networking, Internet of Things (IoT), robotics, manufacturing, and machine learning (ML)/artificial intelligence could further support the space industry by providing the possibility of detailed and mass exploration of the deeper space. In that regard, this article reviews this multidiscipline area from the space exploration perspectives. This article focus on the most recent advancement in the aforementioned technologies along with control system theory considering the impact of long-distance between the controlling station and the intended site of exploration. We also provided a case-study analysis for the Martian surface while identifying technical and research challenges.