Rover Concept of Operation

1
Rover Concept of Operation

• Life in the Atacama 2004Science Technology
  Workshop
• David WettergreenThe Robotics InstituteCarnegie
  Mellon University

2
Operational Concept

• Our operational hypothesis is that planetary
  astrobiology requires extensive mobility
• Our operational concept is to conduct survey
  science over long traverse
• Some Implications
• Time at any individual location limited
• Sampling will not be exhaustive
• Some things will be missed
• More things will be encountered

3
Operational Concept

• Some questions
• What distances and sampling strategy accomplish
  the investigation?
• What rover capabilities are both scientifically
  productive and technically feasible?
• How to use mobility as tool for investigation?
• How precisely to specify rover activities?
• How are survey and focused samples defined?

4
Mobility Hypothesis

• Mobility is essential to investigation
• Conjecture that mobility is necessary for life
  seeking
• Prove (or disprove) this hypothesis by developing
  rover capable of an investigation based on
  mobility
• Experiments quantify performance while measuring
  distribution of life
• Compare rover investigation to ground truth
• Conduct intensive ground truth to determine rover
  accuracy
• Compare traverse strategy to other rover field
  experiments

5
Operating Schedule

• Rover Science Team
• 0600 Wake up
• Wake up 0700 More analysis
• 0800 Specify survey traverse
• 0955 Finalize target selection
• Charged up / Plan / Downlink 1000 Uplink rover
  traverse
• Begin traverse 1100
• Subsurface sample option 1130
• Conclude traverse / hibernate 1700
• 2000 Review strategy
• Wake up for night observation 2100 Study prior
  data
• Subsurface sample option 2130
• Uplink science data 2200 Downlink / initial
  analysis
• Sleep (low power) 2300

6
Science Traverse
30m
Rover begins each day with satellite local
information
7
Science Traverse
Scientists designate areas for detailed
investigation
8
Science Traverse
Scientists designate site for subsurface sampling
9
Science Traverse
Mission planner generates feasible path (1.3km)
10
Science Traverse
Rover executes traverse collecting survey samples
11
Science Traverse
Rover collects designated context imaging
12
Science Traverse
Rover uplinks science data at end of traverse
13
Science Traverse
Rover wakes up for stationary night sampling
operation
14
Science Traverse
Rover wakes up and downlinks the next traverse
plan
15
Sampling Metrics
16
Sampling Approach

• Limit data volume to 100MB/cycle (day)
• Focus on data quality (rather than quantity)
• Expect low precision in sample designation
• Rover will not sample features smaller than its
  gross mobility precision (10 cm) or error (5 of
  distance traveled)
• Achieve known correlation between data products
• Samples are not useful if all associated data
  cannot be correlated (context image, details
  images, spectra, microscopy). Ideally, sampling
  of same target.
• Unless otherwise specified all measurements
  include calibration and spectral data

17
Daily Data Products
18
Total Data Products

• 2 full landing site panorama (1280x960) 2 x 40Mb,
  1 per site, 2 sites
• 10 full stereo panorama (320x240) 10 x 3Mb, end
  of each day, 10 days
• 30 forward stereo panoramas (320x240), 30 x 2Mb,
  3 per day
• 30 spectral panorama (18 samples?), 30 x 1.5Mb, 3
  per day
• 1000 survey measurements, 1 per 10m, 1000 x 57Kb
• 1000 chlorophyll?, 1000 low res images (640x480),
  1000 spectra
• 10 low-angle stereo panorama, 10 x 2.7Mb
• 10 subsurface science operations, 10 x 11Mb
• 20 high-resolution images, 20 fluorescence
  procedures, 20 spectra
• 10 night science operations, 10 x 16 Mb
• 10 quilts, 10 fluorescence procedures, 1010
  spectra
• 10 fluorescence microscopic investigations, (all
  filters, all positions, DOF)
• 1440 weather samples, 1 per 10 minutes, 10 x
  300Kb
• Temp, pressure, humidity, condensation, UV, wind
• Total 572Mb

19
Scenarios

• Landing
• Subsurface Science (Trench)
• Night Science
• Surface Fluorescence
• Focused Sampling (Farming)
• Survey Sampling
• Other

20
Landing Data Products

• These measurements are taken once per landing
  site
• Data Products
• Total Data Volume 41.5 M
• Night before Landing Day 1700 take high-res pan
  and send it. Sleep. (Skip night ops)
• Landing Day rover receives commands at 1100,
  traverses

21
Subsurface Science

• Trench
• Scientist selected via DEM and other prior data
• Sample each sample location before and after
  plowing (x2)
• Total Data Volume 11 M

22
Night Science

• Macro/Microscopic Fluorescence Sample
• Scientist selected (may be following subsurface
  sample)
• Full deployment of the low mag imaging system and
  a microscopic quilt.
• Data Products
• Quilt 100 macro or microscopic fluorescence
  images 1m2 (developmental) Reduce data
• Total Data Volume 16 M

23
Surface Fluorescence

• Macro/Microscopic Fluorescence Sample
• Scientist selected (may be following subsurface
  sample)
• Full deployment of the low mag imaging system and
  a quilt
• Data Products
• Quilt 100 macro or microscopic fluorescence
  images 1m2 (developmental) Reduce data
• Total Data Volume 16 M

24
Focused Sampling (Farming)

• For 25 m x 25 m area, scientists specify interval
  and pattern
• Each Focused Sample

25
Survey Sampling

• Periodic or directed sampling of correlated
  target
• Need to be stationary
• Once every 10 m, corresponds to far-field
  navigation
• Data Volume Total 57 K

26
Other possible detailed investigations

• Forward Panorama, 2 M
• Local Panorama, 2 M
• Low Angle Panorama, 2.5 M
• Low Resolution Panorama, 3 M
• Fluorescence Quilts, 1m2, 10 M