Planning for this update goes back to 2016, when Curiosity last received a software application overhaul. Some changes this time around are as small as making corrections to the messages the rover sends out back to mission controllers in the world. Others simplify computer system code that has actually been changed by numerous spots because Curiosity touched down in 2012. The biggest changes will help keep Curiosity rolling more effectively for years to come.
NASAs Curiosity Mars rover will drive faster and lower wear on its wheels thanks to two of the new abilities included with a significant software application update that was finished on April 7. Seen here is the rovers view of a hill nicknamed “Bolívar,” with Gale Craters vast flooring in the upper right. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS
The rover can now do more of what the group calls “thinking while driving”– something NASAs newest Mars rover, Perseverance, can carry out in a more advanced method to browse around rocks and sand traps. When Perseverance drives, it continuously snaps images of the surface ahead, processing them with a dedicated computer so it can autonomously navigate throughout one constant drive.
Interest doesnt have a devoted computer for this function. The new software will help the age-old rover process images faster, enabling it to invest more time on the move.
” This will not let Curiosity drive as quickly as Perseverance, however rather of stopping for a complete minute after a drive segment, were picking up simply a minute or 2,” stated Jonathan Denison of JPL, Curiositys engineering operations group chief. “Spending less time idling between drive segments also implies we use less energy every day. And although were nearly 11 years old, were still carrying out originalities to use more of our readily available energy for science activities.”
Wheel Wear
The group likewise wishes to keep the health of Curiositys aluminum wheels, which started revealing signs of broken treads in 2013. When engineers understood that sharp rocks were trying the treads, they created an algorithm to improve traction and minimize wheel wear by changing the rovers speed depending on the rocks its rolling over.
The brand-new software application goes further by introducing 2 brand-new mobility commands that minimize the quantity of steering Curiosity requires to do while driving in an arc toward a specific waypoint. With less steering required, the group can reach the drive target quicker and reduce the wear that naturally comes with steering.
” That capability was in fact thought up during the Spirit and Opportunity days,” Denison stated. “It was a nice to have they decided not to carry out.”
Overall, the new software will improve the task of Curiositys human drivers, who have to compose complex strategies consisting of numerous commands. The software upgrade will also allow them to upload software application spots more quickly than in past. And it will assist engineers plan the motions of Curiositys robotic arm more efficiently and point its “head” atop the mast more properly.
Similar to any significant software application upgrade, theres a sense of relief to see it working as designed, Denison stated.
” The idea of hitting the set up button was a little frightening,” he included. “Despite all our screening, we never know precisely what will happen until the software application is up there.”
More About the Mission
Curiosity was constructed by NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), which is handled by the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) in Pasadena, California. JPL leads the objective on behalf of NASAs Science Mission Directorate in Washington.
In this picture, the rover takes a look at a rock on Mars with a set of tools at the end of the rovers arm, which extends about 2 meters (7 feet). The arm can sieve the samples and provide fine powder to instruments inside the rover for comprehensive analysis. Some changes this time around are as small as making corrections to the messages the rover sends out back to objective controllers on Earth. NASAs Curiosity Mars rover will drive faster and minimize wear on its wheels thanks to two of the brand-new abilities included with a significant software upgrade that was finished on April 7. The brand-new software will assist the age-old rover procedure images faster, enabling it to spend more time on the relocation.
This artist concept includes NASAs Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity rover, a mobile robot for investigating Mars previous or present capability to sustain microbial life. In this picture, the rover analyzes a rock on Mars with a set of tools at the end of the rovers arm, which extends about 2 meters (7 feet). The arm can sieve the samples and provide great powder to instruments inside the rover for extensive analysis.
The update brings loads of enhancements, the most considerable being new driving capabilities.
Years in the making, a significant software upgrade that has been set up on NASAs Curiosity rover will enable the Mars robotic to drive faster and lower wear and tear on its wheels. Those are simply two of about 180 changes executed throughout the update, which required the team to put Curiositys science and imaging operations on hold in between April 3 and April 7.
” The flight software application is necessary to our mission, so this is a huge offer for our group,” said Curiosity Project Manager Kathya Zamora-Garcia of NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. “This is a significant software application update, and we needed to make sure we did it right.”
