Physical properties and localization investigations associated with the 2003 Mars Exploration rovers

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Read Full Article (file size: 1097020 bytes) Cited by JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH, VOL. 108, NO. E12, 8070, doi:10.1029/2002JE002041, 2003 Physical properties and localization investigations associated with the 2003 Mars Exploration rovers R. E. Arvidson McDonnell Center for the Space Sciences, Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri, USA R. C. Anderson Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California, USA A. F. C. Haldemann Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California, USA G. A. Landis NASA Glenn Research Center, Cleveland, Ohio, USA R. Li Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Geodetic Science, Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, USA R. A. Lindemann Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California, USA J. R. Matijevic Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California, USA R. V. Morris NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas, USA L. Richter DLR Institut für Raumsimulation, Köln, Germany S. W. Squyres Center for Radiophysics and Space Research, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA R. J. Sullivan Center for Radiophysics and Space Research, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA N. O. Snider McDonnell Center for the Space Sciences, Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri, USA Abstract A number of physical properties experiments will be conducted during the NASA 2003 Mars Exploration Rover Mission as the two vehicles explore Meridiani Planum and the floor of Gusev Crater. The investigations will include quantifying dust accumulation and dispersal dynamics by periodically monitoring the rover decks with the Athena Pancam and Mini-TES instruments. Properties of soil-like materials will be inferred from analyses of wheel track patterns, depths, and wheel slippage dynamics during traverses. The rovers will be modeled as dynamic mechanical systems to extract along-track terrain topography and physical properties from times series of rover tilt vectors, wheel encoder counts, azimuths, motor currents, and rocker and bogie angles. Trenches will be excavated using rover wheels to characterize mechanical properties of soil-like materials with depth and to expose subsurface materials for remote and in situ observations using the Athena Payload. The Rock Abrasion Tools will be used to expose rock subsurfaces for detailed analyses. Motor currents and penetration magnitudes will be compared to a database of rocks excavated by an engineering model of the Rock Abrasion Tool to understand Martian rock mechanical properties. Image-based localization analyses will be pursued to better understand rover traverse directions and magnitudes and thus rover locations as a function of time. The physical properties and localization investigations, when combined with analyses of the full ensemble of Athena observations, will greatly improve our understanding of Martian surface properties and provide significant technology lessons for future landed missions. Received 31 December 2002; accepted 17 June 2003; published 24 October 2003. Index Terms: 5494 Planetology: Solid Surface Planets: Instruments and techniques; 5470 Planetology: Solid Surface Planets: Surface materials and properties; 5464 Planetology: Solid Surface Planets: Remote sensing; 5460 Planetology: Solid Surface Planets: Physical properties of materials. Read Full Article (file size: 1097020 bytes) Cited by Citation: Arvidson, R. E., et al. (2003), Physical properties and localization investigations associated with the 2003 Mars Exploration rovers, J. Geophys. Res., 108(E12), 8070, doi:10.1029/2002JE002041. Copyright 2003 by the American Geophysical Union.

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