to send robots and humans to Mars
©ESA/AEOS - Medialab (click to enlarge)
The European Space Agency's (ESA) Aurora programme is an ambitious initiative to put robots (and eventually humans) onto the surface of Mars within the next thirty years. SciSys has been heavily involved in two studies for 'Flagship' missions, the ExoMars Rover and Mars Sample Return.
The ExoMars Rover will search for signs of past and present life, identify and characterise possible hazards to future human exploration, and enhance our knowledge of the Mars environment. It will carry an extremely sophisticated exobiology package called Pasteur which will be able to perform in-situ multi-diagnostic investigations on retrieved samples.
SciSys are responsible for defining the top-level on-board software (OBS) concept. The safety of the rover and its ability to execute tasks on the Martian surface is wholly dependent on the OBS. Amongst other things, the OBS will monitor the Rover's resource levels, prevent unplanned physical contact and maintain scheduled communications links with Earth. SciSys' OBS will act as the ultimate 'behind the scenes' enabler.
Vehicle blasting off from the surface of Mars
©EADS Astrium (click to enlarge)
The Mars Sample Return (MSR) aims to fly five spacecraft to Mars, one of which will return to Earth carrying a sample of the Martian surface. SciSys are responsible for a study of the Mars Ascent Vehicle's (MAV) Guidance, Navigation and Control (GNC) system. The GNC covers many subsystems including aerodynamics, propulsion, accelerometers, gyrometers, inertia modelling and many others. It is envisaged that the MAV will transfer a 500 gram sample from the surface to a low orbit where it will rendezvous with the Earth re-entry vehicle. Needless to say, the GNC system will be critical to the success of the mission.
robots and humans to Mars ©ESA, P.Carril
(click to enlarge)
SciSys' expertise in planning and scheduling systems is being utilised in a study called OVERSEER which will investigate the way in which Intelligent Planning and Scheduling (IPS) can be used in the context of an Aurora mission such as ExoMars Rover. The project will develop an on-board IPS application capable of mission plan validation and repair - this will offer engineers the prospect of a rover which can validate their activity plans with real-time information and repair these plans autonomously should they fail.
