Related papers: Conceptual Design of Mars Sample Return Mission Us…
We describe how meteors recorded at the Earth can be used to partly reconstruct the meteoroid environments of the planets if a large sample (i.e. millions of orbits at a minimum) is available. The process involves selecting from the…
Remote sample recovery is a rapidly evolving application of Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (sUAS) for planetary sciences and space exploration. Development of cyber-physical systems (CPS) for autonomous deployment and recovery of sensor…
The next generation of Mars rotorcrafts requires on-board autonomous hazard avoidance landing. To this end, this work proposes a system that performs continuous multi-resolution height map reconstruction and safe landing spot detection.…
As space agencies are planning manned missions to reach Mars, researchers need to pave the way for supporting astronauts during their sojourn. This will also be achieved by providing broadband and low-latency connectivity through wireless…
Geophysical imaging of the lunar near-surface structure will be key for in situ resource utilization, identification of hazards for crews and infrastructure, and answering science questions on the formation and interior of the Moon. The…
This paper refines model predictions for the production of methane from UV-irradiated interplanetary dust particles (IDPs) now that the Rover Environmental Monitoring Station (REMS) instrument onboard the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) Rover…
The photometric properties of the surface of Mars describe how remote measurements of surface reflectance can be linked to hemispherical albedo used for energy balance calculations. A simple Lambert model is frequently assumed for global…
In this field report, we detail the lessons learned from our field expedition to collect Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) data in a Mars analog environment for the purpose of validating GPR localization techniques in rugged environments.…
Mars is the Solar System's canonical small, rocky planet that transitioned from early geologic activity and surface liquid water to a cold and arid planet with a thin, cold, CO$_2$-dominated atmosphere. The evolution of Mars, in the context…
Deep subsurface access on Mars could enable sampling of ancient lacustrine deposits, volatile-rich horizons, and other geologic targets beyond the reach of current shallow drilling systems. This study evaluates a wireline pneumatic…
There is ever growing demand for satellite constellations that perform global positioning, remote sensing, earth-imaging and relay communication. In these highly prized orbits, there are many obsolete and abandoned satellites and components…
The surface and subsurface of worlds beyond Mars remain largely unexplored. Yet these worlds hold keys to fundamental questions in planetary science - from potentially habitable subsurface oceans on icy moons to ancient records preserved in…
NASA and ESA are preparing a series of human exploration missions using the four-person Orion crew vehicle, launched by NASA's Space Launch System, and a Lunar Orbiting Platform-Gateway (LOP-G) that enable long duration (>30 days)…
The possibility of using optical communications in free-space as an improvement of current RF communication systems was analyzed in this Project. The particular case of a link Mars-Earth was studied and a link based in the future NASA's…
Developing software for scientific applications that require the integration of diverse types of computing, instruments, and data present challenges that are distinct from commercial software. These applications require scale, and the need…
The ever-changing transparency of the Martian atmosphere hinders the determination of absolute surface colour from spacecraft images. While individual high-resolution images from low orbit reveal numerous colour details of the geology, the…
We present MLNav, a learning-enhanced path planning framework for safety-critical and resource-limited systems operating in complex environments, such as rovers navigating on Mars. MLNav makes judicious use of machine learning to enhance…
Accurate water quality assessment requires spatially resolved sampling, yet most unmanned surface vehicles (USVs) can collect only a limited number of samples or rely on single-point sensors with poor representativeness. This work presents…
Future satellite gravimetry missions seek to surpass the performance of CHAMP, GOCE, GRACE, and GRACE-FO to meet increasing scientific and operational demands. These missions will integrate advanced technologies, including optical and…
For robotic systems to succeed in high risk, real-world situations, they have to be quickly deployable and robust to environmental changes, under-performing hardware, and mission subtask failures. These robots are often designed to consider…