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On board, each rover will carry a small computer, wireless radio and a stereo camera for capturing 3D images. Although none of them will be able to collect as much data on their own as larger ones can be, deploying several at once can reduce the risk of a catastrophic mission failure.
CADRE was developed at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California and tested by researchers at the Simulated Lunar Operations Laboratory (SLOPE) at NASA’s Glen Research Center in Cleveland. SLOPE is the same lab that is testing VIPER (Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover), a mobile robot that will launch in November 2023 and search for frozen water on the moon.
One of the project’s goals is to prevent a recurrence of what happened to NASA’s Mars rover, Spirit, in 2009 – nightmares for space enthusiasts.
One of two twin rovers sent to opposite sides of Mars in 2004, Spirit provided some of the most detailed views of the Red Planet that humanity has ever seen. But five years after its mission, Spirit’s wheels crashed into the soft Martian sand. NASA engineers worked for eight months to get it to move, but after many failed attempts, Spirit was eventually transferred to service as a stationary science platform.
To make sure the new rovers don’t get stuck, SLOPE simulates the unique terrain they have to travel on, from the powdery soil of the moon to the rocky Martian surface. Researchers are using motion capture technology that includes a pair of stereo cameras to create thousands of 3D images used to measure the speed of each rover and the movement of its tires, helping them predict how the ground may react.
“This system really allows us to characterize traction,” says Shepelman. “We can basically measure how each part of the robot moves.”
Wolfgang Fink, an associate professor of electrical and computer engineering at the University of Arizona who studies autonomous research systems, says that although rovers like Curiosity and Perseverance have had limited autonomy, moving to full autonomy through projects like CADRE will allow humanity to explore areas that we would otherwise never reach.
On average, communication takes only seconds to travel between Earth and the Moon, but that time extends to minutes if the message is to travel from Mars. As far away as Titan, Saturn’s largest moon, communication between mission control and each lander or rover will take hours, meaning that any unforeseen tease could put the entire mission in jeopardy. The farther from home we want to explore, the more autonomy will matter.
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