Robotic Spacecraft (Defn. by Alex Ellery UoS)

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Edith Hutchinson
7 years ago
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1 History of Space & Planetary Robotics The history of space exploration started with the invention of gunpowder over 10 centuries ago by Chinese inventors. Rockets were used for celebrations and military purposes. Modern rocketry started early in the 1900's and by the 1950's experimenters were beginning to develop larger and more powerful rocket designs (the space race ). Space & planetary robotics (history) includes: Space probes Orbiters and satellites Landers and rovers, plus manipulators. On orbit free-flying manipulator robots (servicing) CS Robotic Spacecraft (Defn. by Alex Ellery UoS) This is a generic term used to refer to deep space probes of all types with an emphasis on planetary explorers, but often used also to refer to space telescopes. The term emphasises their unmanned nature with the implication of significant degrees of autonomy, particularly for deep space probes that are characterised by deployment at great distances. CS

2 Space robotics, like its terrestrial counterpart, is generally divided into two subject-areas (Alex Ellery UoS) robotic manipulators such devices are proposed for deployment in space or on planetary surfaces to emulate human manipulation capabilities; they may be deployed on free-flyer spacecraft or on-orbit servicing of other spacecraft, within space vehicles for payload tending, or on planetary landers or rovers for the acquisition of samples; robotic rovers such devices are proposed for deployment on planetary surfaces to emulate human mobility capabilities; they are typically deployed on the surfaces of terrestrial planets, small bodies of the solar system, planetary atmospheres (aerobots), or for penetration of ice layers (cryobots) or liquid layers (hydrobots). CS Past Space Probes (Not complete): Luna 2 impacted on the surface of the Moon 1959 (USSR) Luna 3 first photos of the far side of the Moon 1959 (USSR) Mariner 2 the first successful probe to flyby Venus in December of 1962 (NASA) Mariner 4 the sister probe to Mariner 3, did reach Mars in 1965 and took the first close-up images of the Martian surface (22 in all). Many scientists concluded that Mars was a dead world in both the geological and biological sense. (NASA) Mariner 9 Mariner 9, the sister probe to Mariner 8 which failed on launch, became the first craft to orbit Mars in (NASA) Pioneer 10 and Pioneer 11 Pioneer 10 was the first spacecraft to flyby Jupiter in Pioneer 11 followed it in 1974, and then went on to become the first probe to study Saturn in The Pioneers were designed to test the ability of spacecraft to survive passage thru the asteroid belt and Jupiter's magnetosphere. (NASA) CS (Taken from 2

3 Past Space Probes (Not complete): Mariner 10 used Venus as a gravity assist to Mercury in (NASA) Venera 9 soft landing on Venus, pictures of the surface This was the first spacecraft to land on the surface of another planet. (USSR) Venus Vega VEGA-1 and VEGA-2 were the part of the international fleet to Halley's comet. They flew by Venus on June 11th and 15th, 1985, and delivered to Venus two balloons with 4 scientific experiments, and 2 landers with 9 experiments to study the surface and atmosphere of Venus. (USSR + others) Vikings 1 and 2 became the first space probes to successfully land on the surface of Mars. Viking Lander 1 was the first U.S. spacecraft to successfully touch down on any planet other than Earth. Both spacecraft were launched in 1976, the year in which the United States celebrated its bicentennial. The Viking probes analysed gases in the Martian atmosphere and chemicals in the soil for evidence of the existence of simple life. The probes also measured wind speed, wind direction, atmospheric temperature, and atmospheric pressure. The Viking orbiters mapped the Martian surface. (NASA) CS (Taken from Venus VEGA CS

4 Viking Lander Viking Lander 2 11 CS36510 Past Space Probes (Not complete): Voyager 1 and 2 Launched in 1977 they are still operational and are travelling out of the Solar System. The two Voyagers are expected to last until at least the year 2015 when their radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTG) power supplies are expected for fail. (NASA) Mars Global Surveyor Mars Global Surveyor was inserted into an elliptical capture orbit on 12 September The spacecraft was initiated due to the loss of the Mars Observer and the basic design is after the Mars Observer. Two important instruments: Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) and Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA). MOC is still operational. (NASA). Mars Pathfinder Arrived at Mars on July 4, 1997 and impacted the surface at a velocity of about 18 m/s (40 mph). It bounced about 15 meters (50 feet) into the air, bouncing another 15 times and rolling before coming to rest approximately 2.5 minutes after impact and about 1 km from the initial impact site. A six-wheel rover, named Sojourner, rolled onto the Martian surface on July 6. It returned 2.6 billion bits of information, including more than 16,000 images from the lander and 550 images from the rover, as well as more than 15 chemical analyses of rocks and extensive data on winds and other weather factors. The last successful data transmission was on September 27, 1997, the 83rd day of the mission since landing on the surface. (NASA) CS36510 (Taken from

5 Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) CS Sojourner Rover and Lander CS

6 Past Space Probes (Not complete): CS36510 Mars Odyssey Mars Odyssey arrived in It carries the Radiation Environment Experiment (MARIE), which can measure the near-space radiation environment, the Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS), which maps the mineralogy of the Martian surface using a high-resolution camera, and a thermal infrared imaging spectrometer, and the GammaRay Spectrometer (GRS), which maps the elemental composition of the surface and determine the abundance of hydrogen in the shallow subsurface. Detected water beneath surface of Mars. (NASA) Mars Express Arrived December So called because it was built more quickly than any other comparable planetary mission. It has 7 scientific instruments including the High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC). The HRSC is imaging the entire planet in full colour, 3D and with a resolution of about 10 metres. Selected areas can be imaged at 2 metre resolution. Mars Express carried Beagle 2 to Mars. (ESA) (Taken from 15 NASA Mars Odyssey CS

7 NASA Mars Odyssey THEMIS Image (19 m per pixel) CS ESA Mars Express Orbiter CS

8 Mars Express Approaches Mars CS Beagle 2 leaving Mars Express Last image taken of Beagle 2 (or is it?) Artists impression! CS

9 ESA Mars Express HRSC Image (17 m per pixel) CS ESA Mars Express HRSC 3D Image CS

10 ESA Mars Express HRSC 3D Image CS Past Space Probes (Not complete): Mars Exploration Rovers (MER) NASA's twin robot geologists, the Mars Exploration Rovers, were launched towards Mars on June 10 and July 7, 2003, in search of answers about the history of water on Mars. They landed on Mars January 4 (SPIRIT) and January 25 (OPPORTUNITY) UTC (GMT). The Mars Exploration Rover mission is part of NASA's Mars Exploration Program, a long-term effort of robotic exploration of the red planet. Instruments include: Panoramic Camera (Pancam); Microscopic Imager (MI); Hazcams and Navcams (these are engineering cameras, rather than science cameras); Miniature Thermal Emission Spectrometer (Mini-TES), an infra-red spectrometer for rock mineralogy; Mössbauer Spectrometer (MB), to study ironbearing minerals; Alpha Particle X-Ray Spectrometer (APXS), to determine the elemental chemistry of rocks and soils using alpha particles and X-rays; Magnet Arrays, magnetic targets that collect airborne dust for analysis; Rock Abrasion Tool (RAT), a powerful grinder to create a hole 45 mm in diameter, and 5 mm deep into a Martian rock. They also have a Martian Sundial (used to calibrate the Pancam). CS (Taken from 10

11 NASA Mars Exploration Rovers CS NASA Mars Exploration Rovers CS

12 NASA Phoenix Mission Landed 26 th May 2008 (Credit NASA) Launched August 2007 Exploring the Martian Arctic Instruments: MECA: wet lab MET: weather TEGA: spectrometer RAC & SSI: imagers (MARDI) CS Phoenix Science Objectives and Major Discoveries Study the history of water (all its phases) Search for evidence for habitable zone and, Assess the biological potential at ice/soil boundary Frozen water confirmed and falling snow observed Soil nutrients found (Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona/Canadian Space Agency) CS

13 On-Oribit Servicing Eurobot (2004) CS

A long time ago, people looked

Supercool Space Tools! By Linda Hermans-Killam A long time ago, people looked into the dark night sky and wondered about the stars, meteors, comets and planets they saw. The only tools they had to study