MArMET: Modular Autonomous Meteorology Station

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MArMET Modular Autonomous Meteorology Station

• Sixth-monthly review

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MArMet Overview

• The project objective is to significantly reduce
  the total resource footprint of an existing
  meteorological station design, so that it may be
  accommodated with reduced risk and cost, and with
  increased science return on Mars Exploration
  Program (MEP) landers, rovers, and aerial
  platforms
• Modular design
• Internal CPU, Memory and Power Control resources

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Progress Overview

• Only 2 milestones met
• Money touched-down 6 months after equivalent
  JPL projects!
• Had to focus on definitions and software not
  hardware
• Hardware procurements well behind schedule
• Personal spin up well behind schedule
• People don't hang around if there is no obvious
  prospect of being employed!
• Comfortable enough with design progress to
  include IDPU in an MSL proposal

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Inter-module bus defined

• Selected RS485 over SPI
• better standard
• better signal resiliency
• fitted more closely to older instruments modules
• Higher level protocol defined
• based on simple addressable packets
• flexibility least change needed from older
  instrument modules

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Micro Schedule (1) (Completed)

• Micro schedule language 1 definition - completed
• Compiler Version 1 - completed
• Similar to that outlined in proposal
• Simple pair of frequencies for each schedule
  element line SELs
• SELs grouped into schedule elements
• schedule elements grouped into a complete
  schedule
• Micro scheduler Version 1 - completed
• Language and output time graph too simplistic
  for proposed real application (MSL)

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Micro Schedule (2)

• Version 2 - in progress
• Adding variable epochs (i.e. dawn, dusk, etc)
• NAIF tools.
• Adding local times (i.e. a distinction between
  Mars Hour and Earth Hour)
• Adding integration times.
• Adding a run harness pseudo spacecraft sequence
  to drive
• Power model
• Data volume model
• Identified need to specify power and data
  requirements

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Example V2 Schedule
schedule demo1 element background acquire
MTfluxes at 10 hz for 1 m every 0.1666 hr
continuously integrate 1m acquire VnVfluxes
at 10hz for 1m every 0.5 hr continuously
integrate 1m acquire AtmRadiances at 1hz
continuously integrate 30s acquire
OtherRadiances at 0.5hz continuously integrate
10m acquire Winds at 1hz continuously
integrate 10s acquire VnVfluxes at 10hz
continuously from ( dawn - 0.1666 hr )
to ( dawn 0.5 hr )
integrate 1m acquire VnVfluxes at 10hz
continuously from ( dusk - 0.1666 hr )
to ( dusk 0.5 hr )
integrate 1m acquire AtmRadiances at 4hz
continuously from ( dawn - 0.1666 hr )
to ( dawn 0.5 hr
) integrate 2s end element element
diagnostic acquire Diagnostic 1 hz for 10s
once end element element turbulence
acquire MTfluxes at 50 hz for 1m once from now
acquire MTfluxes at 10 hz for 2m once from now
acquire Vapour at 10 hz for 2m once from now
end element end schedule
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FPGA Selection

• Discussions with JPL Mission Assurance group
• Back to Xylinx after initially switching to Actel
• Market wide alert about Actel reliability
• Xylinx a little rad soft
• LEON should handle it
• other cores need beefing up
• New tools identified and speced (18 months on
  from the proposal)
• Procurements ready to go once we find a grad
  student!

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IDPU RTOS

• Acquired Sparc box to run tests on, while waiting
  on FPGAs
• No results yet.

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Data logging boards

• Had to use what was around
• PSOC - Recommend for prototyping!
• PIC - cheap and cheerful
• Acquired DigiQuartz pressure transducer (free)
• RTD Temperature measurement
• porting back to 8032

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Simulated Data (complete)

• Year 3 simulated environmental data subtask moved
  forward and completed.
• Staff available
• Independent complete task
• Synergistic with other projects

Temperature as fn. of height and local time for
two different modeled locations / seasons
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Actuals
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Plan

• Must find graduate student!
• FPGA ground work set - will procure as Grad
  student is found
• Focus on hardware, defocus software
• Next few months should see substantial progress