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From Prime to Extended Mission: Evolution of the MER Tactical Uplink ProcessTo support a 90-day surface mission for two robotic rovers, the Mars Exploration Rover mission designed and implemented an intensive tactical operations process, enabling daily commanding of each rover. Using a combination of new processes, custom software tools, a Mars-time staffing schedule, and seven-day-a-week operations, the MER team was able to compress the traditional weeks-long command-turnaround for a deep space robotic mission to about 18 hours. However, there was never an intention of maintaining the pace of this process indefinitely. Even before the end of the three-month prime mission, MER operations began evolving towards greater sustainability. A combination of continued software tool development, increasing team experience, and availability of reusable sequences first reduced the mean process duration to approximately 11 hours. The number of workshifts required to perform the process dropped, and the team returned to a modified 'Earth-time' schedule. Additional process and tool adaptation eventually provided the option of planning multiple Martian days of activity within a single workshift, making 5- day-a-week operations possible. The vast majority of the science team returned to their home institutions, continuing to participate fully in the tactical operations process remotely. MER has continued to operate for over two Earth-years as many of its key personnel have moved on to other projects, the operations team and budget have shrunk, and the rovers have begun to exhibit symptoms of aging.
Document ID
20070019849
Acquisition Source
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Document Type
Preprint (Draft being sent to journal)
External Source(s)
Authors
Michkin, Andrew H.
(Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)
Laubach, Sharon
(Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)
Date Acquired
August 23, 2013
Publication Date
June 19, 2006
Subject Category
Cybernetics, Artificial Intelligence And Robotics
Meeting Information
Meeting: AIAA 9th International Conference on Spacecraft Operations (SpaceOps)
Location: Rome
Country: Ivory Coast
Start Date: June 16, 2006
End Date: June 24, 2006
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other
Keywords
Mars exploration
Opportunity
Spirit
mission operations
Mars Exploration Rover (MER)
planetary surface operations

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