A Mars rover for the 1990's

Abstract

Some technical issues concerning a Mars rover launched in the 1990s are discussed. Two particular modes of controlling the traveling of the vehicle are described. In one mode, most of the control is from earth, by human operators viewing stereo pictures sent from the rover and designating short routes to follow. In the other mode, computer vision is used in order to make the rover more autonomous, but reliability is aided by the use of orbital imagery and approximate long routes sent from earth. In the latter case, it is concluded that average travel rates of around 10 km/day are feasible.