March 28, 2024

Mars Perseverance Rover: Driving Farther and Faster With Autonomous Navigation and Helicopter Scouting

On September 12, 2021 (Sol 200) Perseverance drove 175.15 m in a single sol setting up for the entry into Séítah after going as far as time available for driving would enable. After an 8m segment to develop the initial surface map, the rest 167m of the drive utilized AutoNav– the farthest any of our Mars rovers have actually driven autonomously in a single sol.

Weve been driving on Mars since 1997, starting with the 83 sol Sojourner rover objective. Visual Odometry, “VO,” tracks the movement of functions in images as it is driving to offer accurate position estimates and determine slip. “Thinking-While-Driving” capability enables Perseverance to continuously drive while carrying out VO, generating a map of terrain geometry, and autonomously mixing drive arcs and choosing a effective and safe drive course.
Perseverance is using autonomous navigation, “AutoNav,” to rapidly drive to features of clinical interest. Resourcefulness has actually been hunting areas of possible interest to assist choose which ones to investigate and to help Perseverance enhance the course to the selected location. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
An example of how Autonav helps is the drive to the area called “Citadelle” where the rover gathered its first rock samples. From where Perseverance was placed on August 20, 2021 (Sol 178), it required to drive about 84 meters upslope crossing a narrow gap in a hazardous ridge towards completion to get to Citadelle. Images from the rover Navcams did not cover the gap. Images from Mars orbiters are important for strategic path planning, but not all rover risks can be determined in them. Using AutoNav, Perseverance was able to drive all the way to the space and autonomously discover a safe course through the space in a single drive.

From the landing site “Octavia E. Butler Landing,” the rover drove south and attempted to collect its very first sample at a drill hole called “Roubion” in early August. After that rock showed too crumbly to supply a core sample, Perseverance drove northwest along “Artuby” ridge to an area understood as “Citadelle,” where it successfully gathered its very first two samples in early September 2021. “Séítah,” a future area of rover exploration, is likewise shown.
On September 12, 2021 (Sol 200) Perseverance drove 175.15 m in a single sol setting up for the entry into Séítah after going as far as time available for driving would enable. After an 8m segment to develop the preliminary terrain map, the rest 167m of the drive used AutoNav– the farthest any of our Mars rovers have actually driven autonomously in a single sol.
This video reveals NASAs Perseverance Mars rover using its auto-navigation, or AutoNav, innovation to drive 548 feet (167 meters) on September 12, 2021, the 200th Martian day, or sol, of the objective. The video was taken by the rovers navigation cams; they are capable of color, but black-and-white images are much better for navigation.
AutoNav and helicopter hunting are assisting Perseverance navigate efficiently between areas of interest and focus more time on science campaigns. The road ahead Is looking pretty interesting as we check out the complete variety of Perseverance and Ingenuity capabilities.
Composed by Vandi Verma, Chief Engineer for Robotic Operations at NASA/JPL

Weve been driving on Mars because 1997, starting with the 83 sol Sojourner rover mission. “Thinking-While-Driving” ability allows Perseverance to continuously drive while carrying out VO, generating a map of surface geometry, and autonomously blending drive arcs and choosing a efficient and safe drive path.
Utilizing AutoNav, Perseverance was able to drive all the way to the space and autonomously discover a safe course through the gap in a single drive.