🚀 go-pugleaf

Hi all,

The following is a status update on the Pele Rover Mission. The Pele
lunar rover mission concept is a proposal developed by a joint team of
the University of Hawaii, NASA Ames Research Center, NASA Johnson
Space Center, McDonnell Douglas Aerospace, the Lavochkin Association,
and Brown University. The mission concept proposes to explore issues
in lunar science and planetary volcanism that were left unanswered by
Apollo. The Pele team is currently conducting field trials with a
Marsokhod rover in the Kilauea Volcano, Hawaii. A major focus of these
tests is to evaluate the use of advanced teleoperations methods (e.g.,
virtual environment based control, high-fidelity stereo video based
telepresence) for operating the rover from geographically distributed
remote control stations.

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		      Pele Mission Status Report
	    Hawaii Volcano Observatory -- Kilauea, Hawaii
			     18-Feb-1995

   The Kilauea Expedition science and field teams completed lunar and
   Mars science operations testing with their sixth consecutive day of
   successful rover operations. Today's traverse was notable as the
   longest day of operations, with 8 hours of continuous science
   operations. Science operations were marred only by one network restart
   which cost 5 minutes. As with previous days, it was possible to leave
   both the rover and the HVO control center untended for periods while
   operations continued from California.
   
   This was the third day of lunar science testing, and operations
   started with an up-close examination of contacts between three
   separate flow regions. The starting location was identical to the
   starting location for the third day of Mars science testing, providing
   comparative data for the science team on what features could be more
   readily identified in a lunar mission mode. Following observations at
   two worksites, operators initiated a long traverse across an ejecta
   field, stopping at numerous locations to characterize boulder size and
   distribution. The traverse ended on the crest of a large escarpment
   overlooking a broad flow region. Among other objectives, the team
   spent time evaluating imaging requirements for long distance
   evaluation of features. For flight missions, such observations will be
   critical in analyzing features such as the stratigraphy on the far
   wall of a valley (which may not be reachable by the rover).
   
   One additional item of note was the successful link up of Karl Pfitzer
   of MDA to the rover. Karl linked in to view telemetry and images from
   his home computer using slip line access to the internet. Karl was
   doing this much to the consternation of his wife, who had some
   shopping and chores in mind instead. However, Karl reported that she
   quickly became interested once she saw some of the spectacular images
   being transmitted back from the vehicle-
   
   This achievement was significant for two reasons. First, it
   demonstrated the ability to provide broad-based access to rover data
   and operations. Second, Karl's connection caused minimal delays in the
   rover control network. The next step in this process is to test the
   ability for multiple users to access the network. This is the type of
   control planned for the JASON project, with up to 30 different PIN
   sites linked in at any one time.
   
   After some well deserved R&R and an all day open house for the public
   on Monday, the team will begin transitioning into set-up for the JASON
   project. A visit to the JASON site at the end of the day today
   revealed a flurry of set-up activity by the production crew. Along
   with JASON producers, the rover team reviewed potential sites for to
   operate at during live operations. Emphasis is being placed on finding
   a site with easy access to the road, as well as a variety of
   interesting science features for the students to examine. Starting on
   Tuesday, the rover team will begin moving hardware to the JASON site,
   concentrating on reestablishing the rover control network as part of
   the JASON infrastructure. The goal is to perform an end-to-end test by
   Wednesday, validating our control mode for the JASON production.
   
   One of the most striking impressions of the site visit was the changes
   which have taken place on the flow within the past two weeks. The
   continuous advance of lava has pushed back the set-up area originally
   planned for JASON by several hundred yards. A free flowing river of
   lava going into the ocean is now visible from the JASON site,
   reiterating to the field team that the best laid plans may fall to
   pieces if the volcano has anything to say about it!
   
   Additional status reports, mission results and technical discussions
   will be forthcoming. In the meantime, however, we have compiled some
   quick look statistics which hopefully give a sense of the technical
   accomplishments from this test as well as insight into some of the
   other issues being dealt with by the field and science teams.
   
     _________________________________________________________________
   
   Total hours of science operation: 33 over six days (goal was 24)
   
   Total hours of rover operation: >50 in Kilauea, >70 in the past 7
   weeks
   
   Total rover traverse during science operations: >2 km
   
   Mission success criteria met: 100%
   
   Some representative statistics from Mars testing, day 3:
   
   During 8 hours of connection to Kilauea, the science team spent 3:50
   performing science analysis, 3:35 driving between sites, and had only
   35 minutes of delay due to technical issues
   
   Each manipulator camera image required 130 minutes to analyze
   
   Each full stereo image required 20 minutes to analyze
   
   The science team took 26 stereo images, including 2 at full resolution
   
   The team took 3 high resolution Kodak DCS images and 5 arm camera
   images
   
   Total traverse was 1394 feet, earning science shift commander Carol
   Stoker the long distance driving award for the week (and causing some
   sore backs for the field team who had to portage the rover out!)
   
   Further statistics, technical and otherwise:
   
   Cross slope handled by rover: >45 degrees
   
   Slope climbed by rover: >30 degrees
   
   Times Keith went up the antenna mast during radio checkout: >15
   
   People who saw the rover during public demos: >1000
   
   Kids that drove the rover during public demos: >10
   
   Kids that drove the rover during public demos and knew more about
   networking than some field team members: 1 (and we want to hire him)
   
   Times Dave James had his picture in the local paper: 2
   
   Times anyone else had their picture in the paper: none, zero, zilch
   
   Papayas consumed at My Island B&B: >30
   
   Cables made, cables discarded, cables remade: we'd rather not talk
   about that
   
   Equipment sacrificed to volcano gods: we're not done yet
   
   Pounds of equipment shipped to Hawaii: >2500
   
   Times science team got lost during traverse: 2
   
   Times science team realized they were lost: 0
   
   Times science team was lost but didn't believe it when field team told
   them: 1
   
   Times science team drove rover into undrivable obstacle: 2 (revoke
   their licenses!)
   
   Science team hardest on rover hardware: Lunar
   
   Depends needed by Jeff Taylor while viewing science images: 3
   
   Times Jeff said "cool": you'd need a Cray to count that high
   
   Keyboards submerged by science shift commander: 1
   
   Science shift commanders who submerged keyboards: Cass Coombs
   
   Number of remote rover drivers: 7 (4 at Ames control center, 3 at
   remote sites)
   
   Number of control sites linked in: 5
   
   Amount of duct tape used for structural applications: 0
   
   Tie wraps on vehicle: get out the computer again...
   
   Packages of Fig Newtons Butler ate on Lunar Day 2: 3
   
   Printing costs for Mars testing science images: $1000
   
   Science image files overwritten by science shift commander: 1
   
   Science shift commanders who overwrote image files: Cass Coombs
   
   Times rover kill switch used on purpose: 0
   
   Times rover kill switch used by accident: 1
   
   Geologist who used rover kill switch by accident: not Cass
   
   People in control room on Lunar day 3 with PHDs: 7
   
   People in control room on Lunar day 3: 9
   
   Times Hans showered: 4
   
   Times we made Hans shower: 1
   
   Number of places Hans slept: unknown
   
   Science data returned: >1.6 gigabytes (approximately a zillion images)

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For additional information on Marsokhod and JASON activities check the
following WWW pages:

NASA Ames Intelligent Mechanisms Group
  http://maas-neotek.arc.nasa.gov/
  http://maas-neotek.arc.nasa.gov/marsokhod

McDonnell Douglas
  http://pat.mdc.com/HB/new/Planetary/planetary.html

JASON Foundation
  http://seawifs.gsfc.nasa.gov/JASON.html

-- 
_______________________________________________________________________________
 "San Francisco has only one                        Terry Fong <terry@cmu.edu>
  drawback - it's hard to leave..."        Robotics Institute, Carnegie Mellon
                -- Rudyard Kipling         Pittsburgh, PA 15213   412-268-1416