Mathematics – Logic
Scientific paper
Jan 2002
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2002iaf..confe.238c&link_type=abstract
IAF abstracts, 34th COSPAR Scientific Assembly, The Second World Space Congress, held 10-19 October, 2002 in Houston, TX, USA.,
Mathematics
Logic
Scientific paper
Many physical constituents of the Martian environment can be considered as possible material resources. The identification and utilization of these in-situ Martian natural resources is the key to enabling cost- effective long-duration missions and permanent human settlements on Mars. Also, access to local resources provides an essential safety net for the initial missions. The incident solar radiation, atmosphere, regolith, subsurface materials, polar deposits, and frozen volatiles represent planetary resources that can provide breathable air, water, energy, organic growth media, and building materials. Hence, the characterization and localization of these resources can be viewed as a component of the process of landing/outpost site selection. The locations of early permanent settlements will likely be near the imported and in-situ resources of the initial outposts. Therefore, the initial site selections can have significant long- term ramifications. Although the current information on the location, extent, purity, and ease of extraction of the in-situ resources is limited; this knowledge improves with each electronic bit of information returned from the planet. This paper presents a powerful software tool for the combined organization and analysis of Martian data from all sources. This program, called PROMT (Planetary Resource Optimization and Mapping Tool), is designed to provide a wide range of analysis and display functions that can be applied to raw data or photo- imagery. Thresholds, contours, custom algorithms, and graphical editing are some of the various methods that the user can use to process data. Individual maps can then be created to identify surface regions on Mars that meet specific criteria. For example, regions with possible subsurface ice can be identified and shown graphically by combining and analyzing various gamma ray and neutron emission data sets. Other examples might include regions with high atmospheric pressure, steep slopes, evidence of geothermal activity, surface albedo variations in a certain spectral range, similar average temperatures, surface flow features, high gravitational anomalies, etc. Surface maps can similarly be created to highlight regions of interest based on virtually any mathematical or remote sensing criteria. These maps can then be combined into composite maps for the purpose of collocating resources, surface features, and other scientific qualities of interest. Finally, PROMT has the capability to optimize the selection of potential landing/outpost sites based on a weighted combination of selected intermediate maps and data sets. This is done by searching the Martian surface for the point that maximizes accessibility to collocated features within a given radius. The use of this tool for analyzing data, generating maps, and collocating features is demonstrated using data from the Mariner, Viking, Hubble, Mars Global Surveyor, and the Odyssey spacecraft. The process of site selection is demonstrated through the combination of analyses performed to identify local resources for producing breathable air, water, and energy. However, any number of site selection objectives could be studied using PROMT. Some examples might be the search for life, water on Mars, geological features, weather observation, survivability of a human base, and so on. In this paper, a mission design objective of outpost self-sufficiency based on the accessibility of useful local materials is presented. Future studies can address a broad range of overall mission design objectives and can incorporate additional planetary data sets as they become available. These studies can be used to drive technology developments, mission planning, analog simulations, as well as precursor missions.
Barker D'ann
Chamitoff Gregory
Dershowitz Adam
James Gordon
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