THE CANADIAN MARS EXPLORATION SCIENCE ROVER PROTOTYPE

Chris Langley, Laurie Chappell, John Ratti, Nadeem Ghafoor, Cameron Ower, Claude Gagnon, Timothy Barfoot, Nathan Orr

Abstract: The Mars Exploration Science Rover (MESR) program is part of the Exploration Surface Mobility (ESM) activity currently being undertaken by the Canadian Space Agency (CSA). MESR primarily supports autonomous science prospecting and in situ geological analysis operations. The chassis and locomotion system has excellent obstacle crossing and continuous steering from low curvatures down to point turns. The power system is path-to-flight based on nanosatellite and microsatellite heritage. The onboard sensor suite provides excellent situational awareness, and enables fully autonomous precision traverses to sites of interest. The MESR is designed to visually learn a path and then repeat the traverse in either direction autonomously. The software architecture supports a Mars-representative command scheme, providing a mission scripting language for use under limited communication windows and bandwidth constraints. Modularity and flexibility have been built into the architecture for future upgradeability.