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Testing Mars-inspired operational strategies for semi-autonomous rovers on the Moon: The GeoHeuristic Operational Strategies Test in New Mexico

BACKGROUND: We tested the science operational strategy used for the Mars Exploration Rover (MER) mission on Mars to determine its suitability for conducting remote geology on the Moon by conducting a field test at Cerro de Santa Clara, New Mexico. This region contains volcanic and sedimentary produc...

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Autores principales: Yingst, R. Aileen, Cohen, B. A., Crumpler, L., Schmidt, M. E., Schrader, C. M.
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: 2011
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5754929/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29309066
http://dx.doi.org/10.1555/mars.2011.0002
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author Yingst, R. Aileen
Cohen, B. A.
Crumpler, L.
Schmidt, M. E.
Schrader, C. M.
author_facet Yingst, R. Aileen
Cohen, B. A.
Crumpler, L.
Schmidt, M. E.
Schrader, C. M.
author_sort Yingst, R. Aileen
collection PubMed
description BACKGROUND: We tested the science operational strategy used for the Mars Exploration Rover (MER) mission on Mars to determine its suitability for conducting remote geology on the Moon by conducting a field test at Cerro de Santa Clara, New Mexico. This region contains volcanic and sedimentary products from a variety of provenances, mimicking the variety that might be found at a lunar site such as South Pole-Aitken Basin. METHOD: At each site a Science Team broke down observational “days” into a sequence of observations of features and targets of interest. The number, timing, and sequence of observations was chosen to mimic those used by the MERs when traversing. Images simulating high-resolution stereo and hand lens-scale images were taken using a professional SLR digital camera; multispectral and XRD data were acquired from samples to mimic the availability of geochemical data. A separate Tiger Team followed the Science Team and examined each site using traditional terrestrial field methods, facilitating comparison between what was revealed by human versus rover-inspired methods. LESSONS LEARNED: We conclude from this field test that MER-inspired methodology is not conducive to utilizing all acquired data in a timely manner for the case of any lunar architecture that involves the acquisition of rover data in near real-time. We additionally conclude that a methodology similar to that used for MER can be adapted for use on the Moon if mission goals are focused on reconnaissance. If the goal is to locate and identify a specific feature or material, such as water ice, a different methodology will likely be needed.
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spelling pubmed-57549292018-01-05 Testing Mars-inspired operational strategies for semi-autonomous rovers on the Moon: The GeoHeuristic Operational Strategies Test in New Mexico Yingst, R. Aileen Cohen, B. A. Crumpler, L. Schmidt, M. E. Schrader, C. M. Mars (Los Angel) Article BACKGROUND: We tested the science operational strategy used for the Mars Exploration Rover (MER) mission on Mars to determine its suitability for conducting remote geology on the Moon by conducting a field test at Cerro de Santa Clara, New Mexico. This region contains volcanic and sedimentary products from a variety of provenances, mimicking the variety that might be found at a lunar site such as South Pole-Aitken Basin. METHOD: At each site a Science Team broke down observational “days” into a sequence of observations of features and targets of interest. The number, timing, and sequence of observations was chosen to mimic those used by the MERs when traversing. Images simulating high-resolution stereo and hand lens-scale images were taken using a professional SLR digital camera; multispectral and XRD data were acquired from samples to mimic the availability of geochemical data. A separate Tiger Team followed the Science Team and examined each site using traditional terrestrial field methods, facilitating comparison between what was revealed by human versus rover-inspired methods. LESSONS LEARNED: We conclude from this field test that MER-inspired methodology is not conducive to utilizing all acquired data in a timely manner for the case of any lunar architecture that involves the acquisition of rover data in near real-time. We additionally conclude that a methodology similar to that used for MER can be adapted for use on the Moon if mission goals are focused on reconnaissance. If the goal is to locate and identify a specific feature or material, such as water ice, a different methodology will likely be needed. 2011-12-29 2011 /pmc/articles/PMC5754929/ /pubmed/29309066 http://dx.doi.org/10.1555/mars.2011.0002 Text en http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ This is an open-access paper distributed under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
spellingShingle Article
Yingst, R. Aileen
Cohen, B. A.
Crumpler, L.
Schmidt, M. E.
Schrader, C. M.
Testing Mars-inspired operational strategies for semi-autonomous rovers on the Moon: The GeoHeuristic Operational Strategies Test in New Mexico
title Testing Mars-inspired operational strategies for semi-autonomous rovers on the Moon: The GeoHeuristic Operational Strategies Test in New Mexico
title_full Testing Mars-inspired operational strategies for semi-autonomous rovers on the Moon: The GeoHeuristic Operational Strategies Test in New Mexico
title_fullStr Testing Mars-inspired operational strategies for semi-autonomous rovers on the Moon: The GeoHeuristic Operational Strategies Test in New Mexico
title_full_unstemmed Testing Mars-inspired operational strategies for semi-autonomous rovers on the Moon: The GeoHeuristic Operational Strategies Test in New Mexico
title_short Testing Mars-inspired operational strategies for semi-autonomous rovers on the Moon: The GeoHeuristic Operational Strategies Test in New Mexico
title_sort testing mars-inspired operational strategies for semi-autonomous rovers on the moon: the geoheuristic operational strategies test in new mexico
topic Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5754929/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29309066
http://dx.doi.org/10.1555/mars.2011.0002
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