on a simulated Mars surface
An autonomous navigation system that will enable a future planetary rover vehicle to be in complete control of its own actions as it explores the surface of Mars is being designed by top-calibre scientists and engineers at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory (RAL) based in Harwell and includes software systems house SciSys.
The team is joining forces to design ‘Seeker’ as part of the European Space Agency’s (ESA) StarTiger initiative, which tackles specific space-related challenges through targeted projects with fixed timeframes. Details of Seeker’s development were unveiled at the recent 7th Appleton Space conference.
The Seeker project, led by RAL Space with SciSys as Technical Lead, is a seven month project that will see the team work intensively day and night to design a navigation system that, unlike previous systems, will enable a rover to navigate around Mars totally independently, covering at least 1km a day. The Seeker navigation system will allow a rover to react better to its surroundings and undertake experiments in more locations, enabling our understanding of the Red Planet to take a major leap forward.
Designed for use on future missions to Mars, Seeker will perform a range of key actions completely unaided by Mission Control or by GPS-type technology. These include: identifying the precise location of the rover on Mars, identifying promising scientific opportunities; long-range pinpointing of particular sites to visit; detecting and avoiding hazards; and navigating back to previously visited sites. It is expected that the Seeker technology will also have potential applications here on Earth, particularly in inhospitable environments.
Roger Ward (Head of On Board and Autonomous Software at SciSys and Technical Director on the Project) said: “With radio signals to conventional rovers taking at least 30 minutes to travel between Earth and Mars, Seeker’s ability to work autonomously in hostile terrain will be crucial. Our role is to develop the underpinning software architecture that allows this to happen and to then monitor and control the resulting rover operations. We believe this will have very real relevance in certain hazardous terrestrial environments which demand similar levels of autonomy.”
At the 7th RAL Conference the team were particularly pleased to acknowledge the comments from the Rt Hon David Willetts MP, Minister of State for Universities and Science who said: "Space captures the imagination of so many people, and it’s excellent to see UK experts playing such a significant role in the groundbreaking StarTiger initiative. The Seeker project has the potential to transform our exploration of Mars and make an important contribution to the international body of knowledge on the universe around us."
The UK Space Agency (UKSA) was instrumental in bringing the ESA StarTiger project to the UK, through working with ESA Harwell (ESA’s only UK base) and securing funding for ESA Harwell’s establishment as a focus for space exploration.
The view expressed herein can in no way be taken to reflect the official opinion of the European Space Agency.
For more information, please contact:
Chris Lee, SciSys UK Ltd. Tel: +44 (0)1179 165116 Email: chris.lee@scisys.co.uk
