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A New Strategy to Land Precisely on the Northern Plains of MarsDuring the Phoenix mission landing site selection process, the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) images revealed widely spread and dense rock fields in the northern plains. Automatic rock mapping and subsequent statistical analyses showed 30-90% CFA (cumulative fractional area) covered by rocks larger than 1 meter in dense rock fields around craters. Less dense rock fields had 5-30% rock coverage in terrain away from craters. Detectable meter-scale boulders were found nearly everywhere. These rocks present a risk to spacecraft safety during landing. However, they are the most salient topographic features in this region, and can be good landmarks for spacecraft localization during landing. In this paper we present a novel strategy that uses abundance of rocks in northern plains for spacecraft localization. The paper discusses this approach in three sections: a rock-based landmark terrain relative navigation (TRN) algorithm; the TRN algorithm feasibility; and conclusions.
Document ID
20150008496
Acquisition Source
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Document Type
Conference Paper
External Source(s)
Authors
Cheng, Yang
(Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)
Huertas, Andres
(Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)
Date Acquired
May 20, 2015
Publication Date
August 29, 2010
Subject Category
Lunar And Planetary Science And Exploration
Meeting Information
Meeting: International Symposium on Artificial Intelligence, Robotics and Automation in Space (I-SAIRAS 2010)
Location: Sapparo
Country: Japan
Start Date: August 29, 2010
End Date: September 1, 2010
Sponsors: Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other
Keywords
pin point landing
landmarks

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