Airbus has been using Valve's Steam Deck to control a prototype of its ExoMars rover during development and testing on Earth. The handheld appeared in a video by YouTuber Tom Scott, who visited Airbus' facility and used the Deck's thumbsticks, triggers, and face buttons to drive the rover through a Mars-like environment. The rover is intended to be autonomous once it reaches Mars, but engineers still need a hands-on way to operate it while testing.
According to Tom's Hardware, the choice makes sense because the Steam Deck is a full handheld PC running Linux, with physical controls, a touchscreen, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and the ability to install Windows. That flexibility lets Airbus run custom software that ordinary game controllers such as Sony's DualSense or Microsoft's Xbox controller cannot support.
Meanwhile, Airbus teams in Stevenage, UK, are designing the landing platform for the Rosalind Franklin rover, scheduled to land on Mars in 2030. Kata Escott, managing director of Airbus Defence and Space UK, called the mission "the culmination of more than 20 years' work." Even if the Steam Deck is not needed once the rover is on Mars, it has already earned a place in the platform's development history.