Lunar rock investigation and tri-aspect characterization of lunar farside regolith by a digital twin

Yutu-2 rover conducted an exciting expedition on the 41st lunar day to investigate a fin-shaped rock at Longji site (45.44°S, 177.56°E) by extending its locomotion margin on perilous peaks. The varied locomotion encountered, especially multi-form wheel slippage, during the journey to the target rock, established unique conditions for a fin-grained lunar regolith analysis regarding bearing, shear and lateral properties based on terramechanics. Here, we show a tri-aspect characterization of lunar regolith and infer the rock's origin using a digital twin. We estimate internal friction angle within 21.5°-42.0° and associated cohesion of 520-3154 Pa in the Chang'E-4 operational site. These findings suggest shear characteristics similar to Apollo 12 mission samples but notably higher cohesion compared to regolith investigated on most nearside lunar missions. We estimate external friction angle in lateral properties to be within 8.3°-16.5°, which fills the gaps of the lateral property estimation of the lunar farside regolith and serves as a foundational parameter for subsequent engineering verifications. Our in-situ spectral investigations of the target rock unveil its composition of iron/magnesium-rich low-calcium pyroxene, linking it to the Zhinyu crater (45.34°S, 176.15°E) ejecta. Our results indicate that the combination of in-situ measurements with robotics technology in planetary exploration reveal the possibility of additional source regions contributing to the local materials at the Chang'E-4 site, implying a more complicated geological history in the vicinity.

Orbital and In-Situ Investigation of Periodic Bedrock Ridges in Glen Torridon, Gale Crater, Mars

Gale crater, the field site for NASA's Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity rover, contains a diverse and extensive record of aeolian deposition and erosion. This study focuses on a series of regularly spaced, curvilinear, and sometimes branching bedrock ridges that occur within the Glen Torridon region on the lower northwest flank of Aeolis Mons, the central mound within Gale crater. During Curiosity's exploration of Glen Torridon between sols ∼2300-3080, the rover drove through this field of ridges, providing the opportunity for in situ observation of these features. This study uses orbiter and rover data to characterize ridge morphology, spatial distribution, compositional and material properties, and association with other aeolian features in the area. Based on these observations, we find that the Glen Torridon ridges are consistent with an origin as wind-eroded bedrock ridges, carved during the exhumation of Mount Sharp. Erosional features like the Glen Torridon ridges observed elsewhere on Mars, termed periodic bedrock ridges (PBRs), have been interpreted to form transverse to the dominant wind direction. The size and morphology of the Glen Torridon PBRs are consistent with transverse formative winds, but the orientation of nearby aeolian bedforms and bedrock erosional features raise the possibility of PBR formation by a net northeasterly wind regime. Although several formation models for the Glen Torridon PBRs are still under consideration, and questions persist about the nature of PBR-forming paleowinds, the presence of PBRs at this site provides important constraints on the depositional and erosional history of Gale crater.

Slip Estimation Model for Planetary Rover Using Gaussian Process Regression

Monitoring the rover slip is important; however, a certain level of estimation uncertainty is inevitable. In this paper, we establish slip estimation models for China’s Mars rover, Zhurong, using Gaussian process regression (GPR). The model was able to predict not only the average value of the longitudinal (slip_x) and lateral slip (slip_y), but also the maximum possible value that slip_x and slip_y could reach. The training data were collected on two simulated soils, TYII-2 and JLU Mars-2, and the GA-BP algorithm was applied as a comparison. The analysis results demonstrated that the soil type and dataset source had a direct impact on the applicability of the slip model on Mars conditions. The properties of the Martian soil near the Zhurong landing site were closer to the JLU Mars-2 simulated soil. The proposed GPR model had high estimation accuracy and estimation potential in slip value, and a 95% confidence interval that the rover could reach during motion. This work was part of a research effort aimed at ensuring the safety of Zhurong. The slip value may be used in subsequent path tracking research, and the slip confidence interval will be able to help guide path planning.

Mission Overview and Scientific Contributions from the Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity Rover After Eight Years of Surface Operations

NASA's Mars Science Laboratory mission, with its Curiosity rover, has been exploring Gale crater (5.4° S, 137.8° E) since 2012 with the goal of assessing the potential of Mars to support life. The mission has compiled compelling evidence that the crater basin accumulated sediment transported by marginal rivers into lakes that likely persisted for millions of years approximately 3.6 Ga ago in the early Hesperian. Geochemical and mineralogical assessments indicate that environmental conditions within this timeframe would have been suitable for sustaining life, if it ever were present. Fluids simultaneously circulated in the subsurface and likely existed through the dry phases of lake bed exposure and aeolian deposition, conceivably creating a continuously habitable subsurface environment that persisted to less than 3 Ga in the early Amazonian. A diversity of organic molecules has been preserved, though degraded, with evidence for more complex precursors. Solid samples show highly variable isotopic abundances of sulfur, chlorine, and carbon. In situ studies of modern wind-driven sediment transport and multiple large and active aeolian deposits have led to advances in understanding bedform development and the initiation of saltation. Investigation of the modern atmosphere and environment has improved constraints on the timing and magnitude of atmospheric loss, revealed the presence of methane and the crater's influence on local meteorology, and provided measurements of high-energy radiation at Mars' surface in preparation for future crewed missions. Rover systems and science instruments remain capable of addressing all key scientific objectives. Emphases on advance planning, flexibility, operations support work, and team culture have allowed the mission team to maintain a high level of productivity in spite of declining rover power and funding.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11214-022-00882-7.

Terrain-Dependent Slip Risk Prediction for Planetary Exploration Rovers

Wheel slip prediction on rough terrain is crucial for secure, long-term operations of planetary exploration rovers. Although rough, unstructured terrain hampers mobility, prediction by modeling wheel–terrain interactions remains difficult owing to unclear terrain conditions and complexities of terramechanics models. This study proposes a vision-based approach with machine learning for predicting wheel slip risk by estimating the slope from 3D information and classifying terrain types from image information. It considers the slope estimation accuracy for risk prediction under sharp increases in wheel slip due to inclined ground. Experimental results obtained with a rover testbed on several terrain types validate this method.

A New Sensor for Robotic Mars Rovers in Sandy Terrains Predicting Critical Soil Flow Using the Spiral Soil Flow Model

The current contribution presents a new sinkage sensor specified for an unmanned ground vehicle to find the exact sinkage zone of a wheel interacting with the soil particles. This sensor will be wrapped around the wheel, and consequently, contact analog outputs will be used in soil deposition and bulldozing effect prediction. Furthermore, the new sensor will be used for a novel soil flow calculation estimating the total mass variation of the control volume of soil particles beneath the wheel. Accordingly, the spiral model simulating the displacement of the particle is implemented to calculate the soil deposition.

The effects of reduced-gravity on planetary rover mobility

One of the major challenges faced by planetary exploration rovers today is the negotiation of difficult terrain, such as fine granular regolith commonly found on the Moon and Mars. Current testing methods on Earth fail to account for the effect of reduced gravity on the soil itself. This work characterizes the effects of reduced gravity on wheel–soil interactions between an ExoMars rover wheel prototype and a martian soil simulant aboard parabolic flights producing effective martian and lunar gravitational accelerations. These experiments are the first to collect wheel–soil interaction imagery and force/torque sensor data alongside wheel sinkage data. Results from reduced-gravity flights are compared with on-ground experiments with all parameters equal, including wheel load, such that the only difference between the experiments is the effect of gravity on the soil itself. In lunar gravity, a statistically significant average reduction in traction of 20% is observed compared with 1 g, and in martian gravity an average traction reduction of 5–10% is observed. Subsurface soil imaging shows that soil mobilization increases as gravity decreases, suggesting a deterioration in soil strength, which could be the cause of the reduction in traction. Statistically significant increases in wheel sinkage in both martian and lunar gravity provide additional evidence for decreased soil strength. All of these observations (decreased traction, increased soil mobilization, and increased sinkage) hinder a rover’s ability to drive, and should be considered when interpreting results from reduced-load mobility tests conducted on Earth.

The Canadian Planetary Emulation Terrain Energy-Aware Rover Navigation Dataset

Future exploratory missions to the Moon and to Mars will involve solar-powered rovers; careful vehicle energy management is critical to the success of such missions. This article describes a unique dataset gathered by a small, four-wheeled rover at a planetary analog test facility in Canada. The rover was equipped with a suite of sensors designed to enable the study of energy-aware navigation and path planning algorithms. The sensors included a colour omnidirectional stereo camera, a monocular camera, an inertial measurement unit, a pyranometer, drive power consumption monitors, wheel encoders, and a GPS receiver. In total, the rover drove more than 1.2 km over varied terrain at the analog test site. All data is presented in human-readable text files and as standard-format images; additional Robot Operating System (ROS) parsing tools and several georeferenced aerial maps of the test environment are also included. A series of potential research use cases is described.

Distribution and Morphologies of Transverse Aeolian Ridges in ExoMars 2020 Rover Landing Site

Aeolian processes are believed to play a major role in the landscape evolution of Mars. Investigations on Martian aeolian landforms such as ripples, transverse aeolian ridges (TARs), and dunes, and aeolian sediment flux measurements are important to enhance our understanding of past and present wind regimes, the ongoing dust cycle, landscape evolution, and geochemistry. These aeolian bedforms are often comprised of loose sand and sharply undulating topography and thus pose a threat to mobility and maneuvers of Mars rovers. Here we present a first-hand account of the distribution, morphologies, and morphometrics of TARs in Oxia Planum, the recently selected ExoMars 2020 Rover landing site. The gridded mapping was performed for contiguous stretches of TARs within all the landing ellipses using 57 sub-meter high resolution imaging science experiment (HiRISE) scenes. We also provide the morphological descriptions for all types of TARs present within the landing ellipses. We use HiRISE digital terrain models (DTMs) along with the images to derive morphometric information for TARs in Oxia Planum. In general, the average areal TAR coverage was found to be 5.4% (±4.9% standard deviation), increasing from west to east within the landing ellipses. We report the average TAR morphometrics in the form of crest–ridge width (131.1 ± 106.2 m), down-wind TAR length (17.6 ± 10.1 m), wavelength (37.3 ± 11.6 m), plan view aspect ratio (7.1 ± 2.3), inter-bedform spacing (2.1 ± 1.1), slope (10.6° ± 6.1°), predominant orientations (NE-SW and E-W), and height (1.2 ± 0.8 m). While simple TARs are predominant, we report other TAR morphologies such as forked TAR, wavy TAR with associated smaller secondary ripples, barchan-like TAR, networked TAR, and mini-TARs from the region. Our results can help in planning the rover traverses in terms of both safe passage and scientific returns favoring aeolian research, particularly improving our understanding of TARs.

The PanCam Instrument for the ExoMars Rover

The scientific objectives of the ExoMars rover are designed to answer several key questions in the search for life on Mars. In particular, the unique subsurface drill will address some of these, such as the possible existence and stability of subsurface organics. PanCam will establish the surface geological and morphological context for the mission, working in collaboration with other context instruments. Here, we describe the PanCam scientific objectives in geology, atmospheric science, and 3-D vision. We discuss the design of PanCam, which includes a stereo pair of Wide Angle Cameras (WACs), each of which has an 11-position filter wheel and a High Resolution Camera (HRC) for high-resolution investigations of rock texture at a distance. The cameras and electronics are housed in an optical bench that provides the mechanical interface to the rover mast and a planetary protection barrier. The electronic interface is via the PanCam Interface Unit (PIU), and power conditioning is via a DC-DC converter. PanCam also includes a calibration target mounted on the rover deck for radiometric calibration, fiducial markers for geometric calibration, and a rover inspection mirror. Key Words: Mars—ExoMars—Instrumentation—Geology—Atmosphere—Exobiology—Context. Astrobiology 17, 511–541.

Habitability on Early Mars and the Search for Biosignatures with the ExoMars Rover

The second ExoMars mission will be launched in 2020 to target an ancient location interpreted to have strong potential for past habitability and for preserving physical and chemical biosignatures (as well as abiotic/prebiotic organics). The mission will deliver a lander with instruments for atmospheric and geophysical investigations and a rover tasked with searching for signs of extinct life. The ExoMars rover will be equipped with a drill to collect material from outcrops and at depth down to 2 m. This subsurface sampling capability will provide the best chance yet to gain access to chemical biosignatures. Using the powerful Pasteur payload instruments, the ExoMars science team will conduct a holistic search for traces of life and seek corroborating geological context information. Key Words: Biosignatures-ExoMars-Landing sites-Mars rover-Search for life. Astrobiology 17, 471-510.

AEGIS autonomous targeting for ChemCam on Mars Science Laboratory: Deployment and results of initial science team use

Limitations on interplanetary communications create operations latencies and slow progress in planetary surface missions, with particular challenges to narrow-field-of-view science instruments requiring precise targeting. The AEGIS (Autonomous Exploration for Gathering Increased Science) autonomous targeting system has been in routine use on NASA's Curiosity Mars rover since May 2016, selecting targets for the ChemCam remote geochemical spectrometer instrument. AEGIS operates in two modes; in autonomous target selection, it identifies geological targets in images from the rover's navigation cameras, choosing for itself targets that match the parameters specified by mission scientists the most, and immediately measures them with ChemCam, without Earth in the loop. In autonomous pointing refinement, the system corrects small pointing errors on the order of a few milliradians in observations targeted by operators on Earth, allowing very small features to be observed reliably on the first attempt. AEGIS consistently recognizes and selects the geological materials requested of it, parsing and interpreting geological scenes in tens to hundreds of seconds with very limited computing resources. Performance in autonomously selecting the most desired target material over the last 2.5 kilometers of driving into previously unexplored terrain exceeds 93% (where ~24% is expected without intelligent targeting), and all observations resulted in a successful geochemical observation. The system has substantially reduced lost time on the mission and markedly increased the pace of data collection with ChemCam. AEGIS autonomy has rapidly been adopted as an exploration tool by the mission scientists and has influenced their strategy for exploring the rover's environment.