Autonomous systems help NASA’s Perseverance do more science on Mars

A pc pilot helps NASA’s six-wheeled geologist because it searches for rock samples that might be dropped at Earth for deeper investigation.

In a couple of third of the time it could have taken different NASA Mars rovers, Perseverance just lately navigated its means by way of a subject of boulders greater than 1,700 ft extensive (a couple of half-kilometer). Whereas planners map out the rover’s normal routes, Perseverance managed the finer factors of navigating the sector, nicknamed “Snowdrift Peak,” by itself, courtesy of AutoNav, the self-driving system that helps reduce down driving time between areas of scientific curiosity.

In actual fact, Perseverance has set rover velocity data on Mars since touchdown in February 2021. The feats of AutoNav had been detailed in a paper concerning the rover’s autonomous programs printed within the July subject of the journal Science Robotics.

Tyler Del Sesto has labored on the software program for Perseverance’s AutoNav for seven years. He used to assume that typically the obstacles positioned earlier than Perseverance’s Earthly twin OPTIMISM throughout testing within the Mars Yard at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory went slightly overboard. He modified his thoughts after Snowdrift Peak.

“It was a lot denser than something Perseverance has encountered earlier than—simply completely affected by these massive rocks,” mentioned Del Sesto, deputy rover planner lead for Perseverance at JPL in Southern California. “We did not wish to go round it as a result of it could have taken us weeks. Extra time driving means much less time for science, so we simply dove proper in.”

On June 26, Perseverance entered the jap fringe of Snowdrift Peak. Together with two stops for boulders that the science workforce needed to examine, the straight-line route by way of Snowdrift would cowl 1,706 ft (520 meters). By the point the rover exited the western fringe of the boulder subject on July 31, it had logged 2,490 ft (759 meters)—with a lot of the additional distance coming from AutoNav maneuvering round rocks not seen within the orbiter photographs used to plan the route.

“When you take out the sols (Martian days) devoted to mission science, the traverse by way of Snowdrift Peak solely took six autonomous drive sols, which might be 12 sols sooner than Curiosity would have taken,” mentioned Del Sesto. “In fact, all people on the workforce is aware of we solely obtained to this degree of efficiency by standing on the shoulders of giants. Sojourner, Spirit, Alternative, and Curiosity had been the trailblazers.”

On the wheels of giants

Some type of silicon-based navigator has been in use because the first Mars rover began dodging rocks in 1997. Again then, the microwave oven-size Sojourner wanted to cease each 5.1 inches (13 centimeters) for its laptop mind to take inventory of its new environs earlier than continuing farther. The following Mars rovers—the golf cart-size Spirit and Alternative (which arrived in 2004)—might drive distances as much as 1.6 ft (0.5 meters) earlier than they too needed to halt and work out subsequent strikes.

Curiosity, which landed in 2012, just lately obtained a software program improve to assist make driving choices, however Perseverance packs a number of benefits: With sooner cameras, the rover can take photographs shortly sufficient to course of its route in real-time, and it has a further laptop devoted completely to picture processing, eliminating the necessity to pause to resolve its subsequent transfer.

“Our rover is the proper instance of the outdated adage ‘two brains are higher than one,'” mentioned Vandi Verma, lead writer of the paper and the mission’s chief engineer for robotic operations at JPL. “Perseverance is the primary rover that has two laptop brains working collectively, permitting it to make choices on the fly.”

This autonomous functionality has allowed Perseverance to set new data for Mars off-roading, together with a single-day drive distance of 1140.7 ft (347.7 meters) and longest drive with out human assessment: 2296.2 ft (699.9 meters). However these achievements came about again when the rover was driving throughout the comparatively flat terrain of Jezero Crater’s flooring, with out giant rocks and different craters standing in its means. That is why this current navigation of boulder-festooned Snowdrift Peak impressed even the engineers who plan rover outings.

New marketing campaign new terrain

Whereas the boulder subject could also be in Perseverance’s metaphorical rearview mirror, extra driving challenges lay forward. The rover started its fourth science marketing campaign on Sept. 7 by crossing “Mandu Wall,” a rolling ridgeline separating two geologic models alongside the interior fringe of Jezero Crater’s western rim. Orbital knowledge signifies the realm is full of carbonates—which can present invaluable knowledge on Mars’ environmental historical past in addition to protect indicators of historic microbial life, if any existed within the space.

“The time the place a rover science workforce might take a look at options on the Martian horizon and file them away for future consideration is over,” mentioned Ken Farley, Perseverance undertaking scientist at Caltech in Pasadena. “We have now to be on our toes as a result of Perseverance’s autonomous capabilities could make one thing we see within the distance on one sol proper in entrance—and even behind us—on the subsequent.”

With the brand new exploration prospects come new challenges: damaged bedrock, greater slopes, and sand dunes, in addition to small affect craters in Perseverance’s close to future.

“This new terrain is certainly going to throw a couple of curveballs at us and AutoNav,” mentioned Mark Maimone, deputy workforce chief for robotic operations on Perseverance. “However that’s the place the science is. We’re prepared.”