Agent-based approaches for distributed space systems and mission management: Methodologies, current practices and challenges

Recently, we have faced a transformative shift in aerospace industry moving away from monolithic satellite systems towards distributed small satellite constellations, considering their lower costs, higher scalability, and improved mission capabilities. However, this shift has brought new challenges and complex issues including resource management, coordination, reliability in face with failures, and make real-time decisions in dynamic, large-scale networks. One promising way to address these challenges is utilising the agent-based methods through which we can have control on self-governing, decentralisation, and adaptivity in large-scale networks. However, the deployment of these solutions in distributed space systems (DSS) still faces unsolved challenges, including ensuring that different systems can work side by side smoothly (interoperability), scaling effectively under communication constraints, and integrating heterogeneous architectures. While many studies have examined individual aspects of agent-based DSS, there is still lack of a comprehensive review that brings together the main advancements and practices, existing challenges, and potential future approaches. This paper bridges this critical gap by presenting a systematic survey and taxonomy of agent-based approaches for DSS and mission management. Alongside a critical overview of existing agent-based methods in DSS, this work introduces a novel taxonomy that categorises agent-based DSS based on key parameters, including agent types, architectures, communication protocols, mission management strategies, and applications. Furthermore, a comprehensive discussion of prevailing challenges and open research questions is provided, offering valuable insights into existing limitations and potential advancements. By consolidating existing knowledge and findings and highlighting future directions, this survey serves as a foundational reference for researchers and practitioners seeking to advance agent-based technologies for next-generation space systems. • A taxonomy for agent-based DSS by considering key parameters. • Critical review of agent-based DSS and mission management approaches. • Overview of challenges and open issues in agent-based DSS and mission management. • Statistical review of current approaches: trends, tools, metrics, objectives.