Max Robotics — Global Service Robot Directory + US Certification

About

Rob Landis is a NASA researcher whose career has centered on advancing human space exploration, with particular expertise in near-Earth object (NEO) missions, lunar surface operations, and the strategic integration of robotic systems into crewed spaceflight programs. His most influential work, a 2009 feasibility study examining the use of NASA's Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle for crewed missions to near-Earth objects, garnered 37 citations and helped lay conceptual groundwork for asteroid exploration initiatives that would later become central to NASA's long-range planning. Landis has been a persistent advocate for "robotic recon" — deploying robotic scouts ahead of human crews to maximize scientific return and mission safety — a concept he explored across multiple peer-reviewed studies and which earned significant recognition within the planetary science community. His contributions to NASA's Space Technology Roadmap (TA07) further demonstrate his influence on institutional strategy for human destination systems. With work spanning lunar robotic assessment, flexible exploration pathways, and near-Earth asteroid human missions, Landis has helped shape the intellectual and technical foundation for humanity's expansion beyond low Earth orbit, accumulating over 125 citations across his published research.