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Results for “Mars Exploration Rover (MER)”

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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NASA NTRS2003

Mars Exploration Rover Landing Site Boulder Fields

As an aid in constraining the rock size-frequency distributions at the Mars Exploration Rover (MER) landing sites, Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) images of all potential MER landing sites were systematically searched for boulder fields. Low-Sun angle MOC images can be used to identify boulders larger than 1.5 m diameter, which can be used to determine the shape of the rock size-frequency distributions. These distributions can be compared with the rock size-frequency distributions measured at the Viking and Mars Pathfinder landing sites to better quantify potentially hazardous rocks at the MER landing sites.

Schroeder, R. D.↗
NASA NTRS2005

Solar System Visualization (SSV) Project

The Solar System Visualization (SSV) project aims at enhancing scientific and public understanding through visual representations and modeling procedures. The SSV project's objectives are to (1) create new visualization technologies, (2) organize science observations and models, and (3) visualize science results and mission Plans. The SSV project currently supports the Mars Exploration Rovers (MER) mission, the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO), and Cassini. In support of the these missions, the SSV team has produced pan and zoom animations of large mosaics to reveal details of surface features and topography, created 3D animations of science instruments and procedures, formed 3-D anaglyphs from left and right stereo pairs, and animated registered multi-resolution mosaics to provide context for microscopic images.

Todd, Jessida L.↗
NASA NTRS2010

Planetary Image Geometry Library

The Planetary Image Geometry (PIG) library is a multi-mission library used for projecting images (EDRs, or Experiment Data Records) and managing their geometry for in-situ missions. A collection of models describes cameras and their articulation, allowing application programs such as mosaickers, terrain generators, and pointing correction tools to be written in a multi-mission manner, without any knowledge of parameters specific to the supported missions. Camera model objects allow transformation of image coordinates to and from view vectors in XYZ space. Pointing models, specific to each mission, describe how to orient the camera models based on telemetry or other information. Surface models describe the surface in general terms. Coordinate system objects manage the various coordinate systems involved in most missions. File objects manage access to metadata (labels, including telemetry information) in the input EDRs and RDRs (Reduced Data Records). Label models manage metadata information in output files. Site objects keep track of different locations where the spacecraft might be at a given time. Radiometry models allow correction of radiometry for an image. Mission objects contain basic mission parameters. Pointing adjustment ("nav") files allow pointing to be corrected. The object-oriented structure (C++) makes it easy to subclass just the pieces of the library that are truly mission-specific. Typically, this involves just the pointing model and coordinate systems, and parts of the file model. Once the library was developed (initially for Mars Polar Lander, MPL), adding new missions ranged from two days to a few months, resulting in significant cost savings as compared to rewriting all the application programs for each mission. Currently supported missions include Mars Pathfinder (MPF), MPL, Mars Exploration Rover (MER), Phoenix, and Mars Science Lab (MSL). Applications based on this library create the majority of operational image RDRs for those missions. A Java wrapper around the library allows parts of it to be used from Java code (via a native JNI interface). Future conversions of all or part of the library to Java are contemplated.

Deen, Robert C.↗
NASA NTRS2013

Reflectance Spectra Diversity of Silica-Rich Materials: Sensitivity to Environment and Implications for Detections on Mars

Hydrated silica-rich materials have recently been discovered on the surface of Mars by the Mars Exploration Rover (MER) Spirit, the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars (CRISM), and the Mars Express Observatoire pour la Mineralogie, l'Eau, les Glaces, et l'Activite'(OMEGA) in several locations. Having been interpreted as hydrothermal deposits and aqueous alteration products, these materials have important implications for the history of water on the martian surface. Spectral detections of these materials in visible to near infrared (Vis NIR) wavelengths have been based on a H2O absorption feature in the 934-1009 nm region seen with Spirit s Pancam instrument, and on SiOH absorption features in the 2.21-2.26 micron range seen with CRISM. Our work aims to determine how the spectral reflectance properties of silica-rich materials in Vis NIR wavelengths vary as a function of environmental conditions and formation. Here we present laboratory reflectance spectra of a diverse suite of silica-rich materials (chert, opal, quartz, natural sinters and synthetic silica) under a range of grain sizes and temperature, pressure, and humidity conditions. We find that the H2O content and form of H2O/OH present in silica-rich materials can have significant effects on their Vis NIR spectra. Our main findings are that the position of the approx.1.4 microns OH feature and the symmetry of the approx.1.9 microns feature can be used to discern between various forms of silica-rich materials, and that the ratio of the approx.2.2 microns (SiOH) and approx.1.9 microns (H2O) band depths can aid in distinguishing between silica phases (opal-A vs. opal-CT) and formation conditions (low vs. high temperature). In a case study of hydrated silica outcrops in Valles Marineris, we show that careful application of a modified version of these spectral parameters to orbital near-infrared spectra (e.g., from CRISM and OMEGA) can aid in characterizing the compositional diversity of silica-bearing deposits on Mars. We also discuss how these results can aid in the interpretation of silica detections on Mars made by the MER Panoramic Camera (Pancam) and Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) Mast-mounted Camera (Mastcam) instruments.

Rice, M. S.↗
NASA NTRS2019

Understanding Martian Alteration Processes by Comparing In-Situ Chemical Measurements from Multiple Landing Sites

Characterizing the history of aqueous activity at the martian surface has been an objective of the Mars Exploration Rovers (MER) and the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL). Although the geologic context of the three landing sites are different, comparisons across the datasets can provide greater insight than using data from one mission alone. The Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer (APXS) is common to all three rovers (Spirit at Gusev crater, Opportunity at Meridiani Planum, and Curiosity at Gale crater) and provides a consistent basis for these comparisons. Soil and Dust: Fine grained basaltic soils and dust are remarkably uniform in chemical composition across multiple landing sites. These similarities in the concentrations of major, minor, and a few trace elements (Fig. 1) are indicative of planet-wide consistency in the composition of source materials for the soils. S and Cl vary by a factor of two in the soil and dust, but there is no clear association with any bulk cation (e.g., no correlation between S and total Ca, Mg, or Fe in soils). These volatile elements, however, are clearly associated with the nanophase-ferric iron component in the soil established by Mössbauer spectroscopy [1,2]. S and Cl likely originated as acidic species from volcanic out-gassing and subsequently coalesced on dust and sand grain surfaces, possibly with an affinity towards Fe3+ sites. Importantly, given the mobility of S and Cl in aqueous exposures, soil samples maintaining the typical molar S/Cl ratio of ~3.7:1 indicate minimal interactions with liquid water after the addition of S and Cl. In contrast to this well-established baseline, soil samples have been discovered at all three landing sites with atypical S/Cl ratios (e.g., subsurface soils), indicative of a more complex aqueous history.

Yen, A. S.↗
NASA NTRS2004

Using RSVP for analyzing state and previous activities for the Mars Exploration Rovers

Current developments in immersive environments for mission planning include several tools which make up a system for performing and rehearsing missions. This system, known as the Rover Sequencing and Visualization Program (RSVP), includes tools for planning long range sorties for highly autonomous rovers, tools for planning operations with robotic arms, and advanced tools for visualizing telemetry from remote spacecraft and landers. One of the keys to successful planning of rover activities is knowing what the rover has accomplished to date and understanding the current rover state. RSVP builds on the lessons learned and the heritage of the Mars Pathfinder mission This paper will discuss the tools and methodologies present in the RSVP suite for examining rover state, reviewing previous activities, visually comparing telemetered results to rehearsed results, and reviewing science and engineering imagery. In addition we will present how this tool suite was used on the Mars Exploration Rovers (MER) project to explore the surface of Mars.

Mars Exploration Rover (MER)↗
NASA NTRS2004

Mars Exploration Rover thermal test program overview

In January 2004, two Mars Exploration Rovers (MER) landed on the surface of Mars to begin their mission as robotic geologists. A year prior to these historic landings, both rovers and the spacecraft that delivered them to Mars, were completing a series of environmental tests in facilities at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. This paper describes the test program undertaken to validate the thermal design and verify the workmanship integrity of both rovers and the spacecraft. The spacecraft, which contained the rover within the aeroshell, were tested in a 7.5 m diameter thermal vacuum chamber. Thermal balance was performed for the near earth (hot case) condition and for the near Mars (cold case) condition. A solar simulator was used to provide the solar boundary condition on the solar array. IR lamps were used to simulate the solar heat load on the aeroshell for the off-sun attitudes experienced by the spacecraft during its cruise to Mars. Each rover was tested separately in a 3.0 m diameter thermal vacuum chamber over conditions simulating the warmest and coldest expected Mars diurnal temperature cycles. The environmental tests were conducted in a quiescent nitrogen atmosphere at a pressure of 8 to 10 Torr. In addition to thermal balance testing, the science instruments on board the rovers were tested successfully in the extreme environmental conditions anticipated for the mission. A solar simulator was not used in these tests.

thermal vacuum test↗
NASA NTRS2005

Mars Exploration Rover surface mission flight thermal performance

NASA launched two rovers in June and July of 2003 as a part of the Mars Exploration Rover (MER) project. MER-A (Spirit) landed on Mars in Gusev Crater at 15 degrees South latitude and 175 degree East longitude on January 4, 2004 (Squyres, et al., Dec. 2004)). MER-B (Opportunity) landed on Mars in Terra Meridiani at 2 degrees South latitude and 354 degrees East longitude on January 25, 2004 (Squyres, et al., August 2004) Both rovers have well exceeded their design lifetime (90 Sols) by more than a factor of 4. Spirit and Opportunity are still healthy and continue to execute their roving science missions at the time of this writing. This paper discusses rover flight thermal performance during the surface missions of both vehicles, covering roughly the time from the MER-A landing in late Southern Summer (Ls = 328, Sol 1A) through the Southern Winter solstice (Ls = 90, Sol 255A) to nearly Southern Vernal equinox (Ls = 160 , Sol 398A).

thermal design↗
NASA NTRS2004

Mars Exploration Rovers Launch Performance and TCM-1 Maneuver Design

The Mars Exploration Rover (MER) project successfully landed two identical rovers on Mars in order to remotely conduct geologic investigations, including characterization of rocks and soils that may hold clues to past water activity. Two landing sites, Gusev crater and Meridiani Planum, were selected out of nearly 200 candidate sites after balancing science returns and flight system engineering and safety. Precise trajectory targeting and control was necessary to achieve the atmospheric entry requirements for the selected landing sites within the flight system constraints. This paper discusses the expected and achieved launch vehicle performance and the impacts of that performance on the first Trajectory Correction Maneuver (TCM-1) while maintaining targeting flexibility in accommodating additional project concerns about landing site safety and possible in-flight retargeting to alternate landing sites.

Trajectory Correction Maneuvers (TCMs)↗
NASA NTRS2003

Re-examination of Mars Pathfinder parachute drag coefficient estimate

The Mars Exploration Rover (MER) mission utilizes the Mars Pathfinder (MPF) parachute design. The MPF parachute drag coefficient is a driver for the MER entry, descent, and landing (EDL) design. As a result, a good estimate of the performance of the MPF parachute at Mars is required.

Mars Pathfinder parachute drag construction↗
NASA NTRS2012

In-Situ Mosaic Production at JPL/MIPL

Multimission Image Processing Lab (MIPL) at JPL is responsible for (among other things) the ground-based operational image processing of all the recent in-situ Mars missions: (1) Mars Pathfinder (2) Mars Polar Lander (3) Mars Exploration Rovers (MER) (4) Phoenix (5) Mars Science Lab (MSL) Mosaics are probably the most visible products from MIPL (1) Generated for virtually every rover position at which a panorama is taken (2) Provide better environmental context than single images (3) Valuable to operations and science personnel (4) Arguably the signature products for public engagement

Multimission Image Processing Lab (MIPL)↗
NASA NTRS2006

Mars Exploration Rover Surface Mission: Thermal Performance for More Than an Entire Martian Year

This viewgraph presentation reviews the thermal performance of the Mars Exploration Rovers. The Mars Exploration Rover (MER) project landed two identical roving science vehicles on Mars in January 2004; they have continued to perform geological science data collection well beyond their surface design lifetime of 90 sols. The design of the thermal system is described. Pictures from the rovers are also included,

flight performance↗
NASA NTRS2003

Microbial Certification of the MER spacecraft

Spacecraft such as the Mars Exploration Rovers (MER) must meet acceptable microbial population levels prior to launch. Sensitive parts and materials prevent any single sterilization method from being used as a final step on the assembled spacecraft.

spore bioburden Mars Exploration Rover dry hear mi↗
NASA NTRS2003

Mars Exploration Rover parachute decelerator system program review

In the Mars Exploration Rover (MER) Mission, NASA returns to the red planet, following the extremely successful Mars Pathfinder in 1997. The mission will send two lander-rovers to the surface of Mars with separate launches in May and June, 2003. This paper describes the Parachute Decelerator System for the entry vehicle.

Mars Exploration Rover MER parachute decelerator s↗
NASA NTRS2004

Qualification and Reliability for MEMS and IC Packages

Advanced IC electronic packages are moving toward miniaturization from two key different approaches, front and back-end processes, each with their own challenges. Successful use of more of the back-end process front-end, e.g. microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) Wafer Level Package (WLP), enable reducing size and cost. Use of direct flip chip die is the most efficient approach if and when the issues of know good die and board/assembly are resolved. Wafer level package solve the issue of known good die by enabling package test, but it has its own limitation, e.g., the I/O limitation, additional cost, and reliability. From the back-end approach, system-in-a-package (SIAP/SIP) development is a response to an increasing demand for package and die integration of different functions into one unit to reduce size and cost and improve functionality. MEMS add another challenging dimension to electronic packaging since they include moving mechanical elements. Conventional qualification and reliability need to be modified and expanded in most cases in order to detect new unknown failures. This paper will review four standards that already released or being developed that specifically address the issues on qualification and reliability of assembled packages. Exposures to thermal cycles, monotonic bend test, mechanical shock and drop are covered in these specifications. Finally, mechanical and thermal cycle qualification data generated for MEMS accelerometer will be presented. The MEMS was an element of an inertial measurement unit (IMU) qualified for NASA Mars Exploration Rovers (MERs), Spirit and Opportunity that successfully is currently roaring the Martian surface

inertial measurement unit↗
NASA NTRS2015

Mars Exploration Rover Spirit End of Mission Report

The Mars Exploration Rover (MER) Spirit landed in Gusev crater on Mars on January 4, 2004, for a prime mission designed to last three months (90 sols). After more than six years operating on the surface of Mars, the last communication received from Spirit occurred on Sol 2210 (March 22, 2010). Following the loss of signal, the Mars Exploration Rover Project radiated over 1400 commands to Mars in an attempt to elicit a response from the rover. Attempts were made utilizing Deep Space Network X-Band and UHF relay via both Mars Odyssey and the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. Search and recovery efforts concluded on July 13, 2011. It is the MER project's assessment that Spirit succumbed to the extreme environmental conditions experienced during its fourth winter on Mars. Focusing on the time period from the end of the third Martian winter through the fourth winter and end of recovery activities, this report describes possible explanations for the loss of the vehicle and the extent of recovery efforts that were performed. It offers lessons learned and provides an overall mission summary.

Callas, John L.↗
NASA NTRS2012

Two Years Onboard the MER Opportunity Rover

The Autonomous Exploration for Gathering Increased Science (AEGIS) system provides automated data collection for planetary rovers. AEGIS is currently being used onboard the Mars Exploration Rover (MER) mission's Opportunity to provide autonomous targeting of the MER Panoramic camera. Prior to AEGIS, targeted data was collected in a manual fashion where targets were manually identified in images transmitted to Earth and the rover had to remain in the same location for one to several communication cycles. AEGIS enables targeted data to be rapidly acquired with no delays for ground communication. Targets are selected by AEGIS through the use of onboard data analysis techniques that are guided by scientist-specified objectives. This paper provides an overview of the how AEGIS has been used on the Opportunity rover, focusing on usage that occurred during a 21 kilometer historic trek to the Mars Endeavour crater.

Mars Exploration Rover (MER)↗