Adriana Daca

Adriana Daca is a Postdoctoral Scholar Research Associate in the Department of Mechanical & Civil Engineering at California Institute of Technology (Caltech). Her research focuses on planetary robotics, autonomous systems, and extraterrestrial terrain mobility. She is actively involved in high-profile space missions such as the Caltech-led Apophis asteroid mission and the NASA CLPS PRISM1 lunar lander mission. Her work integrates mechanical engineering principles with advanced robotics to address challenges in reduced-gravity environments.

Her research emphasizes experimental validation of mobility systems, including rover configurations and wheel-soil interaction in planetary regolith. She contributes to the development of autonomous testbeds like O_WLAT (Ocean Worlds Lander Autonomy Testbed), enabling advanced exploration paradigms for icy moons and other celestial bodies. Recent efforts include improving predictive models for rover performance in low-gravity settings through scaled experiments and machine learning techniques.

Adriana's technical contributions span from conceptualizing robotic assembly solutions for ESPA-class spacecraft to optimizing landing site selection for lunar missions. Her work bridges theoretical models with practical engineering solutions for future space exploration missions.