Mission Operations and Autonomy

Abstract

Chapter 6 offers a systematic, thorough discussion on mission operations and autonomy. Section 6.1 introduces the background and 6.2 sets the context of the topic by introducing the basic concepts of mission operations, processes and procedures, and typical operation modes of planetary robotic systems. Section 6.3 discusses the first step in developing the mission operation software, that is, how to establish the on-ground and onboard software architecture for a given mission operation. The following three sections investigate the main design aspects or core technologies in mission operations: Section 6.4 discusses the planning and scheduling (P&S) techniques and representative design solutions that can enable high level of autonomy; Section 6.5 presents the technology that allows reconfiguration of autonomous software within mission operation; and Section 6.6 covers various tools and techniques for validation and verification of autonomous software. To demonstrate the practicality of the theoretical principles, Section 6.7 presents a design example of mission operation software for Mars rovers. The last Section 6.8 of the chapter describes some over-the-horizon R&D ideas in achieving autonomous operations and systems for future planetary robotic missions.