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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2022

Making or Breaking a Rover- Systems Engineering Parameters On-Board the Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover

On February 18, 2021, Perseverance, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory’s (JPL’s) Mars 2020 Rover, successfully landed on Mars with all systems nominal, despite the risk surrounding the over 200,000 internal flight parameters that had to be properly configured. The Perseverance team defines these parameters as software variables that are configurable, commandable and retrievable from Earth. In 2015, the Mars 2020 project leaders focused on improving systems engineering of parameters based on their experiences from parameter management on previous Mars rovers (Curiosity, Opportunity, Spirit, and Pathfinder) and parameter failures of past missions, such as the mission-ending parameter of the Mars Climate Orbiter. The new rigorous development process allowed for efficient certification and effective implementation of the parameters, allowing the rover to approach and land on the red planet (the most challenging phase of the mission) with zero parameter issues. Although successful, the Perseverance team learned many lessons for how to better manage parameters for the continued surface operations of the Mars 2020 mission and future missions. This paper will discuss eight parameter-management topics for the Perseverance Mission. The first is parameter definition: how we define parameters on our mission, where they are physically located on the vehicle, and why we have so many of them. The second topic is the updated parameter flight software module from Curiosity, including details on the 99% reduction in parameter commands, new bulk configuration capabilities, and improved parameter traceability. The third topic is parameter selection for different mission phases; this includes improving and tweaking our preferred parameter settings until they become certification candidates and managing parameter configurations based on test venue throughout the mission life cycle. The fourth topic is our flight certification process; this includes certification of flight values for four different epochs in the mission: Launch, Entry Decent and Landing (EDL) - 6days, Landing + 5 Sols (Martian Days, still on Cruise Flight Software), and once are on Surface Flight Software (FSW). The fifth topic covers in-flight command implementation, along with details on testing, validation, and verification of those commands. In the sixth section, we will explain our use of open-source management tools, including how we used GitHub for version control and management approvals. The seventh topic will describe the ground tools used in operations, including capabilities of the in-house built tool called Parasol. The eighth and final topic will dig into lessons learned for improving parameter management in the future of this mission and others.

Roth, Brian↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Astrobiological Potential of Rocks Acquired By the Perseverance Rover at the Front of the Western Sediment Fan in Jezero Crater, Mars.

Major objectives of the Perseverance rover mission include identifying past habitable environments, collecting rocks that are likely to preserve biosignatures and using the rover’s instruments to look for potential biosignatures in these rocks. The recognition of the > 3.5 billion-year old habitable environments in Jezero crater, Mars (Fig. 1); promised that the mission could achieve these objectives. The western sedimentary fan deposit, the hydrated minerals therein and the carbonate minerals at the margin of this fan were identified as particularly compelling areas in which to search for the signs of past life and collect the oldest aqueously deposited rocks from another planet.

Mars 2020↗
NASA NTRS2022

Simulating Mars: Enabling Testing of the Perseverance Rover Sampling and Caching Subsystem on Earth

The development of the Sampling and Caching Subsystem (SCS) on the JPL Perseverance Rover lies at the intersection of testing, robotics, and geology. The SCS team established three primary system test campaigns and venues to aid in the development of SCS through verification and validation testing – Qualification Model Dirty Testing (QMDT) to provide a venue for testing in a Martian environment, Vehicle System Testbed (VSTB) for testing while integrated with the mobility subsystem on Martian-like terrain, and the Flight Software Testbed (FSWTB) for conducting tests using the flight motor controllers and software system on a hexapod which had the ability to simulate rover tilt. Each venue contributed a vital piece to the SCS building blocks. However, the QMDT venue operating within a 10-ft diameter Thermal Vacuum chamber to simulate Martian environment provided a sui generis opportunity to fine tune the entire sampling and caching process while building the team’s knowledge base about rock drillability, system life, and target selection. On Earth, because Martian rocks are not readily available, the development team must utilize geoanalogs to the rocks and regolith on Mars. Geologists on the team helped establish a set of standard rock types to use for Mars missions, like Basalt, Sandstone, Mudstone, Gypsum, and other related geoanalogs. These geoanalogs are characterized with a standard suite of tests for density, compressibility, and other characteristics to categorize potential drillability. This concept of drillability is what links the geoanalogs on Earth to the samples we collect on Mars. With the simulant characteristics defined, these geoanalog rocks are ready to be drilled into as we do on the Martian surface. A key aspect of interacting with the surface on Mars is rock target identification and selection. The Perseverance robotic system uses the on-board cameras, instrumentation, and software to collect enough information to identify potential scientific targets. With the targets identified, SCS can place the Corer and abrade the surface or collect a sample. For a ground test activity like QMDT, the test team did not have all of the camera and instrumentation systems that the rover does, so the team developed ground test equivalents to process a rock, build a target map, and define the target. The team constructed a Rock Scanning Station to build a 3D point cloud of the rock. This point cloud was then processed and evaluated with predefined and programmed criteria in a Target Downselect Tool. A primary output of the Target Downselect Tool is a defined target that can be uploaded directly to the robotic software system to simulate and build the robotic sequences used in tests. With these insights and programmatic definition of targets, the QMDT test team was able to make the same decisions that the Perseverance surface operations team does. In addition, valuable lessons learned from developing the target selection ground tools and using them were implemented into the tools used for surface operations.

Kim, Junggon↗
NASA NTRS2021

Calibration of the SHERLOC Deep Ultraviolet Fluorescence–Raman Spectrometer on the Perseverance Rover

We describe the wavelength calibration of the spectrometer for the scanning of habitable environments with Raman and luminescence for organics and chemicals (SHERLOC) instrument onboard NASA’s Perseverance Rover. SHERLOC utilizes deep ultraviolet Raman and fluorescence (DUV R/F) spectroscopy to enable analysis of samples from the Martian surface. SHERLOC employs a 248.6 nm deep ultraviolet laser to generate Raman-scattered photons and native fluorescence emission photons from near-surface material to detect and classify chemical and mineralogical compositions. The collected photons are focused on a charge-coupled device and the data are returned to Earth for analysis. The compact DUV R/F spectrometer has a spectral range from 249.9 nm to 353.6 nm (200 cm1 to 12, 000 cm1) (with a spectral resolution of 0.296 nm (40 cm1)). The compact spectrometer uses a custom design to project a high-resolution Raman spectrum and a low-resolution fluorescence spectrum on a single charge-coupled device. The natural spectral separation enabled by deep ultraviolet excitation enables wavelength separation of the Raman/fluorescence spectra. The SHERLOC spectrometer was designed to optimize the resolution of the Raman spectral region and the wavelength range of the fluorescence region. The resulting illumination on the charge-coupled device is curved, requiring a segmented, nonlinear wavelength calibration in order to understand the mineralogy and chemistry of Martian materials.

Kyle Uckert↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Field Geologic Mapping of Sample Sites From the Ground and the Air With Perseverance Rover and Ingenuity Helicopter

One of the primary mission goals for Perseverance is to determine the geologic context of sample sites. Rover-based (in situ) or field geologic context mapping (GXM) based on Perseverance rover and Ingenuity helicopter observations provides a nearly continuous record of geologic context and exposed surface structure over a 120 m-wide corridor along the traverse of Perseverance and the flight path of Ingenuity. Field geologic mapping along the traverse and flight path and outcrop-scale mapping at sample sites provides a spatial dimension to ground truth geologic, stratigraphic, and modern environmental context for samples at scales relevant to sample interpretation. Here we provide an abbreviated overview of field mapping as it relates to documenting the architecture of the Jezero fan and geologic context of several examples of sample locations.

Mars 2020↗
DOE OSTI2026

Corundum Discovered by SuperCam and the Perseverance Rover at Jezero Crater, Mars

Minerals provide clues to the type of geologic environments in which they form. The primary types of minerals that have been identified on Mars indicate a history dominated by volcanism followed by interaction with water. However, other minerals are sometimes found. Here we present results from the SuperCam instrument on the Perseverance rover in which the mineral corundum (α-Al2O3) has been identified using a technique called time-resolved luminescence spectroscopy. Corundum has a unique light-emitting (luminescence) feature based on two well-known peaks as well as the time it takes for this light to fade after being excited by a laser, which is referred to as the lifetime. Corundum forms in specific environments that are enriched in aluminum and depleted in silicon and have been subjected to high temperature and pressure. Such places include deep subsurface magmas or shallower locations that have been exposed to high temperature through tectonic processes or meteorite impacts. Given their small size, association with a mineral called plagioclase, and location on the heavily impacted crater rim, we propose that these corundum minerals formed through impact processes.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗
NASA NTRS2022

Sampling of Jezero Crater Máaz Formation By Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover

Collection of samples that could be returned to Earth from the floor of Jezero crater is a major goal of the Mars 2020 mission. Laboratory analyses of these will expand exploration of Jezero, a Noachian crater on Mars characterized by a delta–lake system with high potential for habitability. The samples will also be used to test current ideas about the early planetary evolution of Mars. The Perseverance rover has collected samples from two members of the Máaz formation, mapped in orbital images as the Crater floor fractured rough unit by [1]. Type localities of the Roubion and Rochette members have been targeted and abraded prior to sample collection. Here we summarize these sampling activities and the potential of sampling the Chal member of Máaz. A similar summary for samples collected from the Séítah formation is described in Hickman-Lewis et al. (this meeting).

Mars 2020↗
NASA NTRS2023

In Situ Geologic Context Mapping Transect on the Floor of Jezero Crater From Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover Observations

In situ geologic context mapping based on rover and helicopter observations provides documentation of a nearly continuous record of geology and exposed surface structure over a 120 m-wide corridor along the traverse of the Mars 2020/Perseverance rover. The results record the geologic context of Mars 2020 campaign sites and sample sites, including the local extent of bedrock outcrops, stratigraphy, attitude, and structure from imaging and rover-based remote sensing, and outcrop lithology based on in situ proximity science. Mapping identifies a sequence of igneous lithologies including (a) early mafic, possibly intrusive, rocks; (b) pervasively fractured and deeply altered massive bedrock of undetermined protolith; (c) buried and exhumed lava flows with pahoehoe and aa textures; (d) several varieties of regolith; and (e) small impact craters.

Mars 2020↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Collecting Samples from the Máaz Formation of Jezero Crater with the Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover

Collection of samples that could be returned to Earth from the floor of Jezero,a Noachian crater characterized by a delta–lake system with high potential for habitability, is a major goal of the Mars 2020 mission. The Mars 2020 Perseverancerover iscurrently exploringthe Máaz and Séítahformationsto the southeastof the delta. Here wefocus on thecrater-retainingMáaz formation, a widespread, rough and fractured terrain with lobatemarginsmapped in orbital images, e.g.[1]. Outcrop morphology and texture, as well as the appearance, composition and mineralogy of abraded rock surfaces observed by Perseverance suggest that theMáazformation consists of asequence of maficigneous units, likely lavas flows. These rocks have experienced variable interaction with aqueous fluids. Type localities of the lower Roubion and the more resistant Rochette members of the Máazformation have been targeted and their abraded surfaces characterized prior to sample collection. In thispresentation we will summarize these sampling activities and potential future sampling of theheavily crateredupperCh’ałmember that is indicative of the Máazformationfrom orbit.

Justin Ibrahim Simon↗
NASA NTRS2021

Dynamics associated with the Corer on M2020 Perseverance Rover

This paper will report on the development of the Dynamics specifications for the Corer on Mars 2020. The corer is a critical piece of the M2020 mission, leading into the Mars Sample Return campaign. However, the configuration of the rover places it on the turret of the Robotic Arm assembly, and near to several science sensors (PIXL, SHERLOC) which are also mounted to the Turret. This paper will provide some similarities and differences to the MSL drill. Details in the development, evolution, and verification of the Dynamics specifications will be described in detail, including the hardware which had to meet these challenging specifications. In addition, the special testing venues used throughout the development & verification of M2020 (EDU corer, EM actuators, HALT testing [simulation of coring dynamics], and QMDT) will be described.

Chrystal, Kyle↗