Simulating Science Operations for a Joint Rover-helicopter Mission Architecture in a Mars Analog Setting

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Abstract Aerial platforms can explore planetary surfaces without the mobility limitations of rovers and landers. Inspired by the recent successes and challenges of NASA’s IngenuAity Mars Helicopter, the Rover-Aerial Vehicle Exploration Network project explored the operations and science value of a dual-platform rover-helicopter mission architecture coupled with simulated orbiter image data. A remote mission operations team carried out a 5 day long Mars mission simulation executed by a field team in the Rainbow Basin Natural Area near Barstow, California, USA. The simulation demonstrated the rover’s ability to collect progressively finer-scale, specifically targeted image and compositional observations with a complementary multi-instrument payload. The helicopter excelled at the collection of extensive image surveys, providing views of diverse terrains and geologic units within the exploration area otherwise inaccessible to the rover. Of the helicopter data, high-resolution, low-altitude oblique images proved to be the most useful from a science and strategic operational planning perspective. The dual-platform mission architecture had clear science advantages over the individual rover or helicopter investigations during the simulation, but sharing daily data downlink between the mission platforms presented one of the greatest operational challenges. Rover operations demanded daily “reactive” tactical planning and rapid downlink of science data to enable targeting and traverse decisions, while the helicopter was best suited to a “predictive” advanced planning timeline for operations, data volume management, and science analysis.

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