AUTONOMOUS LUNAR PROSPECTING: FIELD TESTING HUMAN-ROBOTIC LUNAR SCIENCE
- Paper number
IAC-09.A5.2.-B3.6.6
- Author
Dr. Nadeem Ghafoor, MDA, Canada
- Coauthor
Mr. Michael G. Daly, MDA, Canada
- Coauthor
Dr. Gordon Osinski, University of Western Ontario, Canada
- Coauthor
Mr. Timothy Barfoot, University of Toronto, Canada
- Coauthor
Mr. Paul Furgale, University of Toronto, Canada
- Coauthor
Mr. Timothy Haltigin, McGill University, Canada
- Year
2009
- Abstract
The goal of human lunar surface exploration by 2020 has been embraced internationally to an unprecedented level, and the next few years look likely to be spent defining the eventual surface architecture and the steps towards its establishment. The degree of autonomy, the balance between human and robotic capabilities, and the specific role of science are two key elements that will be addressed in this definition period. Robotic elements may prospect, test critical technology elements or even prepare the outpost ahead of human arrival, or potentially support alongside the human deployment as EVA assistants or remote agents. As these robotic technologies continue to advance at component level, it becomes increasingly important to understand how they complement each other as a system, in real exploration scenarios, and the extent to which they enhance safety and efficiency of EVAs. This paper considers one such scenario, a geological surface science sortie, and explores the effectiveness of a suite of robotic tools – specifically mobility, advanced vision and ground penetrating radar – when deployed together as a system to reduce demands on dedicated astronaut surface EVA. The past few years have seen increased use, internationally, of integrated human-robotic field trials where multiple exploration concepts, architectures and operational scenarios are validated in semi-representative analogue environments. This paper describes the 2008 deployment of one such autonomous exploration suite in the Canadian High Arctic where a simple mission was constructed to simulate robotic prospecting, from a lander and small rover, of subsurface ice deposits using lidar, stereo vision, ground penetrating radar and a small robotic arm. This scenario, a cross-disciplinary collaboration between agency, industry and academia, contributed to a deeper understanding of how well a science-driven lunar sortie could be implemented robotically. In addition to a presentation of the results and lessons learned, discussion is given to follow-on developments and human-robotic field deployments in 2009.
- Abstract document
- Manuscript document
(absent)