Mathematics – Logic
Scientific paper
Apr 2003
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2003eaeja....14088s&link_type=abstract
EGS - AGU - EUG Joint Assembly, Abstracts from the meeting held in Nice, France, 6 - 11 April 2003, abstract #14088
Mathematics
Logic
Scientific paper
I review results and lessons learned from field tests of planetary surface rovers. Terrestrial field tests help to train scientists in rover capabilities, and guides developments to improve them. Key metrics of rover science performance include distance traveled and number of science targets studied using instrument placement or sample manipulation. Field tests show that traverse range is governed primarily by commanding frequency rather than a rover’s maximum speed. With real-time feedback, teleoperated rovers can traverse kilometers per day. With commanded operations, typical traverses are a few meters. Longer traverses are risky and error prone. Tasks requiring moving a few meters to a target followed by manipulation or instrument placement take several command cycles per target. Higher level autonomy for navigation and manipulation is needed to improve performance. Rovers are being called upon to play a key role in the search for evidence of life on Mars. Conditions on the Martian surface today appear to preclude living organisms, but more clement conditions in the past may have supported the formation of a fossil record. However, any fossil record on Mars is likely to be produced by microbial life, and to be extremely ancient. Finding unambiguous evidence of biogenic origin of putative fossil structures will require collecting high priority samples and returning them to Earth. Recognition of fossiliferous deposits using rover data is problematical. Information provided by a rover is of very low bandwidth and fidelity compared to that observed by a field geologist. Limitations arise in both quality and quantity of data transmitted to Earth. In a rover mission simulation performed in a fossil-rich terrestrial field site hosting dinosaur tracks and stromatolites, science teams did not find any evidence of fossils. However, living organisms such as endolithic microorganisms and lichens have been identified in field experiments using color imaging and spectroscopy. Field experiments show that interpretations of a site are heavily effected by what data is sampled by the rover, and due to sparse sampling, inevitably many important clues that guide correct and complete geologic interpretation are missed. Performance might be improved by autonomously recognizing science value onboard the rover.
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