This is designed to support the vertical rappel of a rover through a skylight into a tube. The TMDS connects two rovers via a tether, enabling them to cooperate and communicate during such an operation. Its hardware comprises an active winch and two interfaces, a passive HOTDOCK and a passive EMI. Although particular robotic systems are used to demonstrate the feasibility of the task, the device can link any robots equipped with the active counterparts of these standard interfaces. The height of the TMDS platform can be adjusted by two linear actuators in order to facilitate docking and transport. A robotic software framework independent interface provides control over the platform height and the velocity at which the winch releases the tether. The winch speed is synchronized with the wheel speed of the rappelling rover allowing for a controlled descent.