Cooperative Autonomous Distributed Robotic Exploration (CADRE)¶
IM-3 · manifested · NASA payload
A technology demonstration of multi-robot autonomy: three suitcase-sized solar-powered rovers, three tether deployers, and a base station and camera on the lander. Given only a broad goal, the rovers elect a leader, split the work, map an area in 3D with stereo cameras, drive in formation, and take multistatic ground-penetrating radar measurements together, for one lunar day.
PI: Jean-Pierre de la Croix (JPL); project manager Subha Comandur
Built by: NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (a division of Caltech), with support from NASA Glenn and Ames; Motiv Space Systems designed and built key hardware (NASA center)
| Technology | multi-robot autonomy demonstration (small rovers, ground-penetrating radar) |
| Moon Base need | #0805, #1004 (The study's reading. NASA names no gap for CADRE, but its Lunar Surface Technology page files it under autonomous systems and robotics, 'to validate cooperative autonomous surface mobility for lunar exploration', and the Ignition fact sheet lists it among near-term CLPS payloads. That matches tech gap #0805 (autonomous surface mobility and navigation) and, for the leader election and replanning, #1004 (trustworthy autonomy for decision-making). The Users Guide names neither gap among its Moon Base challenges, so no challenge is listed. NASA's Moon Base page puts IM-3 in Phase One.) |
| Route onto CLPS | STMD; No open payload call. CADRE was selected under NASA's Lunar Surface Innovation Initiative and is funded by STMD's Game Changing Development program; how and when it was chosen for a CLPS flight is not stated. NASA added it to the PRISM-1 delivery at Reiner Gamma: the CLPS office's request for task-order proposals carried CADRE's accommodation requirements, and Intuitive Machines won the CP-11 task order on 17 November 2021.; 2021-11-17 |
| Timeline | first funding 2015 (PUFFER task order, 2015-09-30); A-PUFFER from 2017-10 (TechPort) or 2018-05 (task order); CADRE itself from January 2020; first flight test not in public sources; selected 2021-11-17 (CP-11 task order carrying CADRE; the selection date itself is not public); launch no earlier than the first part of 2027 (NASA, September 2026, per Wikipedia); landing not in public sources |
| On the Moon | not yet flown |
| FO | none |
Flights before the Moon¶
None found in the public sources.
Heritage hardware¶
- design heritage (software from a ground predecessor): CADRE follows JPL's A-PUFFER project, which wrote the first version of the multi-agent autonomy software and showed several small robots mapping and exploring JPL's Mars Yard together. A-PUFFER was ground-tested only (TechPort TRL 5).
"which developed an initial version of the multiagent autonomy software that CADRE will use on the Moon"
— CADRE"A key capability developed and demonstrated in A-PUFFER is for multiple robots to explore the rocky terrain of the Mars Yard cooperatively"
— TechPort project 94172, outcomes: Closed out 2021-04-01
- flown parts heritage (processor class) and commercial parts: Each rover runs on a ModalAI VOXL computer with the next generation of the cellphone-class processor that flew on NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter. TechPort says CADRE advances technology 'from A-PUFFER (and Ingenuity)', without saying which parts. The rovers mix commercial off-the-shelf and custom parts; their spoked wheels are like VIPER's.
"computer (using the next generation of the cellphone-"
— d2pn8kiwq2w21t.cloudfront.net: CADRE-Fact-Sheet.pdf"The lunar surface demo advances the technology from A-PUFFER (and Ingenuity)"
— TechPort project 116324, benefits"Made with a combination of commercial off-the-shelf parts and custom-built components"
— NASA’s Trio of Mini Rovers Will Team up to Explore the Moon - NASA"the CADRE robots utilize spoked wheels, like the wheels on the"
— A CADRE of Mini-Rovers Navigate the Lunar Terrain of SLOPE
- ground tests: Development rovers drove in JPL's Mars Yard and on lunar simulant and tilt beds in NASA Glenn's SLOPE lab, to measure wheel slip for the position software. Flight rovers passed thermal vacuum testing in September 2024 (per an Ames presentation; the JPL release dates hardware completion to February 2024). The rovers were shipped to Intuitive Machines in February 2025.
"The results of the tests will be used to characterize small rover performance and improve the rovers’ mobility design."
— A CADRE of Mini-Rovers Navigate the Lunar Terrain of SLOPE"Flight Rover Assembly complete (6/4/2024) Thermal-vacuum testing (9/2024)"
— NTRS 20240012890, page 38 (Fong, Ames, Oct 2024)"Construction of the CADRE hardware"
— NASA’s Mini Rover Team Is Packed for Lunar Journey, 'was completed in February 2024'"The hardware arrived safely on Sunday, Feb. 9."
— NASA’s Mini Rover Team Is Packed for Lunar Journey, 2025
Funding before the lunar flight¶
- NASA task order to JPL (Caltech) for the CADRE technology demonstration (80NM0020F0013), the project's own funding line under STMD's Game Changing Development program. Linked by name: the award's description names CADRE. It runs from January 2020 to September 2026 and covers development and test; whether it covers lunar operations is not stated. (STMD Game Changing Development; 2020-2026): $81,698,829
"COOPERATIVE AUTONOMOUS DISTRIBUTED ROBOTIC EXPLORERS TECH DEMONSTRATION (CADRE) 15-107746"
— USAspending.gov, award 80NM0020F0013, description; obligated 81698829.0 (base and options 85748055.0), 2020-01-14 to 2026-09-27"Cooperative Autonomous Distributed Robotic Exploration"
— TechPort project 116324, title (GCD, JPL, 2020-01-01 to 2026-09-30)
- NASA task order to JPL for A-PUFFER, the direct predecessor whose multi-agent autonomy software CADRE builds on (80NM0018F0058). Linked by name and by TechPort's lineage. Obligated amount; the order's base and options were $1,979,940. (STMD Game Changing Development (A-PUFFER, TechPort 94172); 2018-2020): $189,408
"AUTONOMOUS POP-UP FLAT-FOLDING EXPLORER ROBOTS (PUFFER)"
— USAspending.gov, award 80NM0018F0058, description; obligated 189407.81, 2018-05-23 to 2020-05-23"JPL is now on CADRE (another GCD project) to bring this technology to the Moon on a commercial lunar lander in the next few years."
— TechPort project 94172, outcomes: Closed out 2021-04-01
- NASA task order to JPL for PUFFER, the origami rover platform that A-PUFFER made autonomous (NNN15D018T). Linked by name only; the funding program is not stated in the record. (not in public sources (JPL task order); 2015-2017): $1,448,005
"PUFFER: POP-UP FLAT FOLDING EXPLORER ROBOTS"
— USAspending.gov, award NNN15D018T, description; obligated 1448005.45, 2015-09-30 to 2017-10-30
How it got onto CLPS¶
"The technology demonstration was selected under the agency’s Lunar Surface Innovation Initiative"
— NASA’s Mini Rover Team Is Packed for Lunar Journey"CADRE is funded by NASA’s Game Changing Development program under the agency’s Space Technology Mission Directorate"
— NASA Selects Intuitive Machines for New Lunar Science Delivery - NASA, 17 Nov 2021"The RFTOP included requirements for accommodation of the Lunar Vertex, CADRE, LUSEM, and MPAc payloads."
— NTRS 20230000531, Blewett et al., LPSC 2023
On the Moon¶
Delivered to Intuitive Machines in February 2025 and waiting for IM-3. TechPort marks the project Completed (end date 30 September 2026) at TRL 6, its planned end TRL, though the lunar demonstration has not happened.
"The hardware arrived safely on Sunday, Feb. 9."
— NASA’s Mini Rover Team Is Packed for Lunar Journey"Cooperative Autonomous Distributed Robotic Exploration"
— TechPort project 116324, status Completed; trlCurrent 6, trlEnd 6; endDate 2026-09-30
FO's role¶
Grade: none. No FO flight of CADRE, A-PUFFER, PUFFER or the CADRE team; FO's records, reports and pages do not name them. Two thin links, neither counted: (1) Jaakko Karras, who presented PUFFER with CADRE's PI in 2019, was co-investigator on FO's JPL Biosleeve gesture-control project, flown on parabolic flights in FY2017 (TechPort 72023); a different technology and not CADRE's PI. (2) FO flew Honeybee Robotics' POCCET, a dust tool for small rovers 'such as the PUFFER platform', on a lunar-gravity flight in February 2025 (TechPort 145004); another team's add-on, not CADRE. The rovers' traction was tested on the ground (Glenn SLOPE) rather than in reduced gravity, as far as the sources say. The study's earlier traceback grade (none found) stands.
"Nothing in the FO sources."
— earlier finding of this study (not a public source)"Pop-Up, Flat-Folding Explorer Rovers: Meet PUFFER—NASA’s Origami Rover"
— NTRS 20210016505, 20210016505 (Karras, Jaakko; de la Croix, Jean-Pierre; 2019)Data: name: Jaakko T Karras
— TechPort project 72023, contacts: Co-Investigator (Biosleeve, FO)"designed to mount on small rovers, such as the PUFFER platform developed by NASA"
— TechPort project 145004, description (POCCET, FO)
Who built it¶
"Lead Development Organization: JPL"
— CP-11 Science Payloads - NASA Science"Payload PI: Jean-Pierre de la Croix"
— CP-11 Science Payloads - NASA Science"Motiv Space Systems designed and built key hardware elements at the company’s Pasadena facility."
— NASA’s Mini Rover Team Is Packed for Lunar Journey
Moon Base need¶
"to validate cooperative autonomous surface mobility for lunar exploration"
— Lunar Surface Technology"Near-term payloads: MoonFall hopper drones, CADRE rover, VIPER rover and"
— nasa.gov: ignition.pdf, Ignition fact sheet, March 2026"Current human-in-the-loop teleoperation for navigation and"
— Moon to Mars knowledge base: ESDMD #0805: Autonomous Surface Mobility and Navigation, description"Autonomous decision-making with existing"
— Moon to Mars knowledge base: ESDMD #1004: Trustworthy Autonomy for Planning and Decision-making, description"planned for Phase One of Moon Base development"
— Moon Base Phases - NASA, IM-3 listed below
Open questions¶
- How CADRE was chosen for a CLPS flight, and when: the sources say only 'selected under' the Lunar Surface Innovation Initiative.
- Whether the $81.7 million JPL task order includes lunar operations and the CLPS delivery share: not in public sources.
- Motiv Space Systems' contract value for CADRE hardware (a JPL subcontract): not in public sources.
- Was the tether deployer or rover mobility ever tested in reduced gravity? None found.