Space Rovers Market Size, Share, Competitive Landscape and Trend Analysis Report, by Type and Application : Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2020-2030

Space Rovers Market Statistics – 2030

Mars surface exploration the global space rovers market valued $ 431.30 million in 2019, and is projected to reach $ 998.29 million by 2030, registering a CAGR of 9.2%.

Space rover robotic vehicles that are capable to function at the surface of celestial bodies under very high and low temperatures, cosmic rays, and several other distinct conditions from the Earth’s atmosphere.

These vehicles are generally divided into two categories, namely, fully autonomous rovers, which are capable to operate without real-time assistance from ground control throughout their operations; and non-wheeled rovers, which are capable to utilize rolling, hopping, robotic legs, and other mechanisms instead of wheeled approaches to move. Technological advancements in space rovers, for instance, lightweight robotic arm, improved mobility system, and inertial measurement unit (IMU) have led to enhancement of exploration capability of rovers on the surface of extra-terrestrial objects, consequently increasing opportunities for the space rover market. On February 21, 2021, ISRO announced that it will launch Chandrayaan-3 lunar mission including a lander and a rover in 2022. NASA’s Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover or VIPER- part of its Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program will land at the South Pole of the Moon in late 2023. In January 2020, NASA signed an agreement with Maxar Technologies to build, a cutting-edge robotic arm to be equipped on Restore-L (robotic spacecraft). Maxar Technologies will perform an in-space assembly demo using a light-weighted robotic mechanism. The robotic arm, known as Space Infrastructure Dexterous Robot or SPIDER, is to be fitted with the spacecraft bus the company is manufacturing for NASA’s Restore-L mission that will be used to supply a satellite with fuel orbiting in low Earth orbit (LEO). Such technologies are expected to strengthen the space capabilities for future missions. The program is currently working toward a launch in December 2023. Several other agencies have their space programs lined up in the coming years involving space rovers. Such developments are anticipated to propel the growth of the global space rovers market over the forecast period.

Rise in investments for space explorations across the globe, surge in in investments in space mining, supportive government regulations, and technological advancements in 3D printing technology are anticipated to boost growth of the space rovers market during the forecast period. However, high costs involved in space exploration missions are expected to hinder growth of the market. 

The market segmentation is based on type, application, and region. The type segment is divided into lunar surface exploration, mars surface exploration, and asteroids surface exploration. Depending on application, the market is segmented into commercial/mining, and research. Region wise, it is analyzed across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and LAMEA. Infographic for Space Rovers Market

Key players operating in the global space rovers market include Space Applications Services NV/SA, Astrobotic Technology, Inc., Planetary Transportation Systems GmbH, ispace, inc., Maxar Technologies, Motiv Space Systems, Inc., Honeybee Robotics, Northrop Grumman, Toyota Motor Corporation, and Airbus S.A.S.

The report also includes space agencies such as National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), Canadian Space Agency (CSA), UAE Space Agency, State Space Corporation ROSCOSMOS (ROSCOSMOS), European Space Agency (ESA), and China National Space Administration (CNSA).

Increase in investments for space explorations across the globe

Space rovers are essential tools for space explorations. These are semi or fully-autonomous devices that are designed to move across the surfaces of planets or other celestial bodies to gather information regarding the terrain to collect samples such as soil, rocks, dust, and liquids. Various countries across the globe have invested in space exploration programs to detect presence of water, valuable elements, and similar materials on planets. Governments in big nations such as the U.S., China, Russia, France, and Japan have funded space projects worth thousands of millions in recent years. For instance, NASA launched its Mars 2020 mission on 30 July 2020, which included the use of Perseverance rover. In addition, China launched their Tianwen-1 on 23 July 2020, which consists of an orbiter, a lander, and a rover. Both these projects are worth millions of dollars. These rovers would help in detecting life on Mars, prospects for preservation of biosignatures within available geological resources, and identification of minerals and different kinds of rocks on the surface of Mars. Moreover, several nations across the globe have planned to deploy space missions involving rovers in the coming years. For instance, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) is planning to launch the Martian Moons Exploration mission to explore two moons of Mars by 2024. It would include a rover that is being developed by JAXA in partnership with teams at French space agency CNES and German space agency DLR. Moreover, the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) is expected to launch Chandrayaan-3, Lunar Polar Exploration Mission, and Mangalyaan 2 mission in the future. 

Growth in investments in space missions involving launch of rovers to analyze terrain and study characteristics of soil and rocks are anticipated to propel growth of the global space rovers market during the forecast period.  

Growth in investments in space mining 

Space offers several opportunities for both public and private sector companies, which are involved in space mining and research. According to Space Foundation, a non-profit organization, the global space economy grew to $423.8 billion in 2019, which verifies increase in developments in the space industry. Mining asteroids for resources such as minerals, fuels, or water is expected to be a reality in the future.

There are many companies such as Planetoid Mines Corporation, NEO Resource Atlas, and Asteroid Mining Corporation Ltd are working on this technology, which could be beneficial for various researches in the future. In line with efforts of Japan’s space agency JAXA to mine valuable elements present in space, the Japanese spacecraft Hayabusa-2 effectively picked up samples from the asteroid Ryugu in 2019, which is around 300 million km from Earth. Moreover, countries such as China and India are planning to mine moon for digging out Helium-3. This isotope has the capability to deliver safer nuclear energy. Moreover, water present in the outer space can be used to make rocket propellants.

Space rovers collect samples of rocks and soil to examine their composition. Information that rovers collect from planets, asteroids, and other celestial bodies forms basis of full-scale mining for future analysis. Rise in initiatives by state-owned and private firms aimed at space mining are anticipated to drive growth of the space rovers market during the forecast period.   

High costs involved in space exploration missions    

Space exploration missions involve huge investments for design, testing, and launch of space equipment. Space vehicles are designed to operate in high temperatures, high pressure regions in space, and have to be equipped with state-of-the-art communication technologies to maintain seamless communication between ground station and space probe. Furthermore, as tools such as robotic arms, sensors, cameras, and solar panels necessitates error-less and robust design to collect physical characteristics and samples on extra-terrestrial bodies, space rovers incur huge costs in their design. In addition, launch vehicles that deploy space rovers in the intended orbits add up to the overall costs involved in a space exploration mission.

Several nations across the world have launched space exploration missions to study composition of surfaces of planets or other extra-terrestrial bodies. Although the explorations helped in understanding the outer space, they incurred huge costs. For instance, NASA's Mars Curiosity mission, which was launched in 2011, amounted to $2.5 billion. Furthermore, NASA launched Mars 2020 mission on 30 July 2020 that carried a perseverance rover and ingenuity helicopter drone. It involved an investment of about 2.7 billion dollars for spacecraft development, launch services, and operations and scientific analysis. Moreover, nations such as the U.S., China, and Japan have backed various space exploration missions in past years, however, owing to large costs associated with these projects, a large number of nations do not invest in space missions, which limits growth of space technologies in under-developed countries globally. The high-cost factor associated with space exploration missions is anticipated to hinder growth of the space rovers market during the forecast period.

Technological advancements in 3D printing technology

The aerospace industry is involved in development, research, and production of aerial vehicles, which include rockets, space crafts, rovers, and landers. Growth in applications of 3D technology in manufacturing spacecraft components could bring down expenses and lead to manufacturing of huge, intricate engine constituents such as combustion chambers. Recent developments in 3D printing technology have made it a potential tool for manufacturing of high endurance and low-weight parts of space-crafts and rovers. For instance, NASA used 3D-printed metal parts for Perseverance Rover for its Mars 2020 mission. The Perseverance rover carries 11 metal components that were 3D printed, five of those 3D printed parts are on its PIXL device, which will be used to assist the rover to search for traces of fossilized microbial life by using X-ray beams. Scientists at Planetary Transportation Systems GmbH, with the support of Audi and a number of scientists and firms from several nations, launched Audi lunar Quattro rover in 2015. It weighs just 30 kg and has the ability to carry 5 kg of extra payload. The low mass of the rover has been accomplished by making use of cutting-edge metal 3D printing techniques. 

All such advancements in 3D printing technology opens up gates for more economical space exploration missions and act as a major factor for growth of the global space rover market. 

COVID-19 Impact Analysis 

• The COVID impact on the space rovers market is unpredictable and it is expected to remain in force till the second quarter of 2021. 
• The COVID-19 outbreak forced governments across the globe to divert their investments from space programs to strengthen healthcare services to manage spread of the virus. This led to significant delays in space missions in several nations. 
• Moreover, nationwide lockdowns disrupted supply-chain as several space technology part manufacturers had to partially or fully shut down their operations.
• The adverse impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic have resulted in delays in activities and initiatives regarding development of innovative space rovers technologies. 

Key Benefits For Stakeholders

• This study presents the analytical depiction of the global space rovers market analysis along with the current trends and future estimations to depict imminent investment pockets.
• The overall space rovers market opportunity is determined by understanding profitable trends to gain a stronger foothold.
• The report presents information related to the key drivers, restraints, and opportunities of the global space rovers market with a detailed impact analysis.
• The current space rovers market is quantitatively analyzed from 2020 to 2030 to benchmark the financial competency.
• Porter’s five forces analysis illustrates the potency of the buyers and suppliers in the industry.

  Space Rovers Market Report Highlights

Aspects	Details
By Type	Lunar Surface Exploration Mars Surface Exploration Asteroids Surface Exploration
By Application	Commercial/Mining Research
By Region	North America  (U.S., Canada) Europe  (UK, Germany, Russia, Luxembourg, Rest of Europe) Asia-Pacific  (China, Japan, India, Rest of Asia-Pacific) LAMEA  (Latin America, Middle East, Africa)
Key Market Players	PLANETARY TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS GMBH, MOTIV SPACE SYSTEMS, INC., STATE SPACE CORPORATION ROSCOSMOS (ROSCOSMOS), MAXAR TECHNOLOGIES, HONEYBEE ROBOTICS, INDIAN SPACE RESEARCH ORGANISATION (ISRO), TOYOTA MOTOR CORPORATION, AIRBUS S.A.S., NORTHROP GRUMMAN, ISPACE, INC., CHINA NATIONAL SPACE ADMINISTRATION (CNSA), NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION (NASA), EUROPEAN SPACE AGENCY (ESA), CANADIAN SPACE AGENCY (CSA), SPACE APPLICATIONS SERVICES NV/SA, UAE SPACE AGENCY, JAPAN AEROSPACE EXPLORATION AGENCY (JAXA)

Analyst Review

The global space rovers market is expected to witness significant growth during the forecast period, owing to rise in demand for space rovers for space exploration and commercial space mining applications.

Rise in investments for space explorations across the globe and surge in investments in space mining are expected to drive growth of the global space rovers market. However, factors such as the high costs involved in space exploration missions and high chances of failure of space exploration projects are expected to restrain growth of the market during the forecast period. Furthermore, supportive government regulations are expected to offer potential opportunities for the global space rovers market during the forecast period.

Space rovers are designed considering harsh environment of extraterrestrial bodies. They are equipped with carefully designed and tested equipment such as cameras, highly-accurate sensors, and robotic arms. They are employed to examine rocks, soil, and other entities present on planet surfaces and collect samples for its study on Earth. These studies conducted by space rovers form the basis of human space missions to conduct further studies regarding habitability of  planets and other space entities. 

Superior communication technologies have enabled faster transmission of signals between rovers and ground staff. In addition, rise in technological developments and increase in participation of private players in space exploration missions offer numerous opportunities for growth of the space rovers market. According to a key executive of an space rover industry, rise in investments by several space agencies and trend of partnerships between space agencies regarding space exploration missions are anticipated to drive growth of the global space rovers market in the coming years. 

Among the analyzed regions, North America is the highest revenue contributor, followed by Europe, Asia-Pacific, and LAMEA. On the basis of forecast analysis, Asia-Pacific is expected to grow with a significant CAGR during the forecast period, owing to the flourishing automotive space industry in prominent countries, such as China Japan, and India, which are globally acknowledged for their space capabilities.
 

Author Name(s) : Mayank Halmare| Himanshu Joshi | Lalit Janardhan Katare

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