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At the foot of Langjokull, the second largest glacier of Iceland, on the black basalt sand of the Lambahraun lava field, scientists and engineers met for three weeks this summer to develop and test prototypes of rover and Martian drone.
The project, known as SAND-E (semi-autonomous navigation for prison environments), is a collaborative initiative funded by NASA that aims to test these technologies in an environment similar to that of Mars. The purpose of the tests is to collect data that will inform the March 2020 operations team.
"We aim to disseminate this information as quickly as possible this year so that the [Mars]The 2020 operations team, once chosen, will be able to use this information to streamline these operations, "Ryan Ewing, Associate Professor in the Department of Geology and Geophysics at Texas A & M University told Space.
Related: NASA Mars Rover 2020 Mission in Pictures (Gallery)
From July 8 to August 5, the research team tested the prototype rover, which is a small orange and white electric vehicle, and a drone designed to showcase the potential capabilities of the Mars 2020 helicopter, on the lava field.
By testing the drone, the team was able to create high-resolution maps of the surface and, using the information gathered by the drone, "scientists were able to make quick decisions about where they wanted to navigate and the scientific target they wanted to choose, "says Ewing.
A prototype rover crosses difficult terrain in Iceland.
(Image credit: Ryan Ewing)
According to Ewing, the images and data collected by the drone had a much higher resolution than the images that can be acquired by a satellite in Mars orbit. So, while space vehicles like the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter provide a satellite view to rovers on the surface of the red planet, future rovers could get a clearer view through drone observations flying just above the surface of the planet. planet.
Although the March 2020 helicopter is currently only a technological demonstration, Ewing suggested that a job like this could help support the future exploration of aircraft on Mars .
The rover has four-wheel drive and two engines powered by 12 small car batteries. "This rover that we have (is) fundamentally indestructible," Adam Deslauriers, director of space and education, at Canada's Space Mission Control Services, told AFP. "The rovers we have on Mars and the Moon would be much more sensitive to the environment and conditions of Iceland."
Controlled remotely, the 1,257-pound (570-kg) mobile moves at a speed of 7.9 inches (20 centimeters) per second. The pace of the rover may seem icy, but it is much faster than the vehicle would move to the surface of Mars. This slowness allows the rover to use its sensors and dual lens camera to collect data and images as it crosses the Icelandic terrain.
Since this prototype could not collect and store samples, as the Mars 2020 rover would do, the researchers collected the samples manually on the sites crossed by the rover.
Researchers have set up a camp this summer in Iceland to test prototypes of rovers and drones. This work will inform NASA's operations team for March 2020.
(Image credit: Ryan Ewing)
The team worked there because Iceland "is an analog for Mars and for the moon," said Ewing. Scientists think that before losing its atmosphere and becoming the sterile and frozen desert that it is today, Mars had a lot in common with Iceland. By testing space technologies on continents like Iceland, scientists can "put our feet on the ground and test what we think we can do in another world without going there before," he said, adding that they hoped that these tests would mitigate the risks. for future missions using similar technology.
The site where the team tested the robots was particularly unique. Located at the foot of a glacier, "we started almost as close as possible to the glacier and we would navigate the rover through these active rivers that lay beneath the glacier," Ewing said. They were able to "test how the sediments generated by glacial erosion, river erosion and wind erosion are changing physically and chemically," he added.
Researchers have tested this prototype rover alongside a prototype drone in Iceland this summer.
(Image credit: Nick Wilson / Texas A & M)
In addition, "the mineralogy in Iceland is very similar to what we would find on Mars", Ewing said in a statement. "In addition to that, we have little vegetation, it's cold and we have environments such as sand dunes, rivers and glaciers that Mars has evidence of in the past."
SAND-E is a collaboration between researchers from Texas A & M University, NASA's Johnson Space Center, Purdue University, Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and from Reykjavik University. The project is funded by NASA's Planetary Science and Technology Through Analog Research (PSTAR) program.
The project is also supported by the Canadian private space company Mission Control Space Services Inc.who leads the outreach and education efforts.
The researchers camped for nearly a month (from July 8 to August 5, 2019) this summer to test prototype rovers and drones in Iceland.
(Image credit: Ryan Ewing)
Follow Chelsea Gohd on Twitter @chelsea_gohd. Follow us on twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook.
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