GI3.2

As much is still unknown about the conditions for life on Early Mars, extreme environments on Earth that resemble Early Martian conditions are particularly useful for planetary scientists and astrobiologists to understand Early Mars environments. As biosignatures could be preserved in the Martian mineral record, Mars analogue environments on Earth also provide useful points of reference for measurements gathered by Mars rover missions.

One of the best Martian Analogue Environments on Earth is the dry high-altitude desert in the area of the Ojos del Salado volcano in Chile. The Ojos del Salado is the highest point of the Puna de Atacama plateau in the Andes, characterized by extremely dry periglacial conditions, high UV radiation levels, low oxygen pressure, strong winds and the presence of volcanic and hydrothermal activity. High altitude lakes in the area feature polyextremophile microbial ecosystems that are adapted to these unique conditions and which provide a valuable insight into ecosystems that might resemble life on Early Mars. We report research results from Raman spectroscopy, UV-Vis spectroscopy and optical microscopy, gathered in-situ during the joint interdisciplinary Universidad de Atacama/LICA UDA/EuroMoonMars field campaign to the Ojos del Salado area in February/March 2022.

How to cite: Ehreiser, A., Schlarmann, L., Strahsburger, E., Tavernier, A., Garcia, A., Ulloa, C., and Foing, B.: Spectroscopic and microscopic study of microbial mats in the Ojos del Salado area in Chile, a (possible) analogue environment for habitats on Early Mars, EGU General Assembly 2022, Vienna, Austria, 23–27 May 2022, EGU22-587, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu22-587, 2022.

An extended investigation of the long-term trends in the fluxgate magnetometer (FGM) calibration parameters on the four Cluster spacecraft

Leah-Nani Alconcel¹, Tim Oddy², Patrick Brown², and Chris Carr²

¹ University of Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom

² Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom

Over 20 years of calibrated data from the Cluster fluxgate magnetometer instruments (FGMs) aboard the four Cluster spacecraft are now accessible through the European Space Agency (ESA) Cluster Science Archive (CSA). The FGM team at Imperial College – the PI institute that built and supports operation of the magnetometers – has regularly provided validated data to the CSA since its inception. In 2014, the team published an initial investigation of the long-term trends in the calibration parameter stability between 2001 and 2012. The investigation showed that the offset parameter drift for three of the Cluster spacecraft FGMs (C2, C3 and C4) was nearly negligible, with the fourth being approximately 0.2 nT per year. This remarkable level of consistency is crucial to Cluster mission science, as the FGM data are used for the derivation of some datasets from other Cluster instruments.

With our dataset doubled in length, it is possible to quantitatively analyse very slow variations (years-long) trends observed in both the offsets and other parameters. We are now able to present an update to the earlier work, showing correlations between instrument calibration and housekeeping parameters.

How to cite: Alconcel, L.-N., Oddy, T., Brown, P., and Carr, C.: An extended investigation of the long-term trends in the fluxgate magnetometer (FGM) calibration parameters on the four Cluster spacecraft, EGU General Assembly 2022, Vienna, Austria, 23–27 May 2022, EGU22-1527, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu22-1527, 2022.

The Gravity field and steady-state Ocean Circulation Explorer (GOCE) is the European Space Agency's (ESA) satellite gravity mission and is a revolutionary tool to reveal geologic information from the Earth. Geothermal energy is heat energy within the earth’s interior that can developed for a low carbon energy in the future. We use the GOCE satellite integrated with other data to extract geophysical information that are related to geothermal such as boundaries of the subsurface structures and plutonic rocks. The study area is in southern Thailand where a large plutonic rock associated major faults in the area playing an important role in geothermal system.

In this study total horizontal derivative, tilt derivative, and improved logistic were applied to emphasize the subsurface structural lineament and lithology. The result shows that the geological characteristics in southern Thailand are well correlated with gravity model from GOCE’s data.

How to cite: Phiranram, T. and Chenrai, P.: Mapping subsurface structural lineament and geothermal potential areas in Southern Thailand using GOCE gravity data, EGU General Assembly 2022, Vienna, Austria, 23–27 May 2022, EGU22-3384, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu22-3384, 2022.

For space projects, the availability of energy is a critical factor. The farther we go from the Sun the power of solar irradiance is weaker, at Mars it is 43 percent compared to the Earth. A special feature of Mars is the opacity of the atmosphere, as well as possible dust storms and sand floating in the atmosphere, which affect the solar irradiance received by the lander on the surface.

The most common methods for generating electrical energy in Mars are solar panels and a radioisotope thermoelectric generator (RTG). RGT produces energy all the time, regardless of the prevailing solar irradiance. For smaller landers, a combination of solar panels and batteries is usually sufficient. The possibility of using RTG as part of the energy production system has been considered in this work.

Payload and service electronics set the starting point for the design of the energy and power generation system. In addition to the electrical requirements, the mass and space limitations brought by the lander have to be taken account. The introduced tool was designed in the frame of the MetNet Mission and ESA MiniPINS study and both landers are relatively small and limitations are e.g. with the mass and volume of the batteries and available solar panels as well as the RTG. The optimization tool developed in this work provides virtually limitless possibilities to modify the energy system parameters, but due to the limitations imposed by the landers,  in this study we do not simulate unrealistic alternatives for the selected landers.

The introduced optimization tool was developed in two steps. First with MS Excel, which was used to define realistic starting points, e.g. the number of solar panels and batteries and testing the static operating modes at different solar irradiance densities and subsystem efficiencies. Second, we use a Python tool that includes all the features of the Excel tool and we can simulate the operations with variable solar irradiances at any time of the day and season with one minute resolution. The required solar irradiance data is acquired and extrated from the Mars Climate Database covering almost the whole Mars surface. The developed tool is designed to simulate operations more than one Martian year, so with the tool, user can cover and simulate all seasons in any location on the Mars.

Devices on the surface of Mars operate fully autonomously. In this case, the availability of energy and optimized use of it are key factors. The lander service electronics must be able to operate even in non-optimal situations and, if necessary, interrupt scientific operations. These operations are controlled by the so-called cyclograms, i.e. pre-programmed operation plans, implemented by the lander computer when required. In this work, we simulate cyclograms for different operating conditions using the developed optimization tool.

How to cite: Haukka, H.: Tool for optimizing the scientific operations and performance of the Mars lander, EGU General Assembly 2022, Vienna, Austria, 23–27 May 2022, EGU22-4823, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu22-4823, 2022.

The future space exploration missions will require autonomous robotic systems capable to safely move across the operational environment and reach sites of scientific interest with limited commands from the ground operators.

The NASA Mars2020 Perseverance rover is the most advanced robotic vehicle ever sent on the planet Mars and is currently exploring the Jezero crater searching for signs of ancient life and investigating the geological history of the planet. The increased computational resources of the Perseverance’s onboard computer enable the navigation software to continuously adjust the path, by processing visual inputs through the navigation cameras. The stereo images with the left and right rover cameras are analyzed to build local 3D maps of the surrounding terrain to identify hazardous areas (e.g., steep slopes) that could affect the rover’s safety.

We use Visual Odometry (VO) methods to accurately update the rover’s position and attitude (i.e., pose), by detecting and tracking the image-locations of landmarks (e.g., the sharp edge of a rock) through successive stereo pairs. VO is a fundamental technique to enhance the localization accuracies of wheeled vehicles in planetary environments where Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) are not available.

We present here the reconstructed position and attitude of the Perseverance rover that we retrieved by processing images acquired by the navigation cameras during sols 65, 66, 72, and 120. 3D-to-3D algorithms were applied accounting for the nonlinear optical effects that affect the raw images. The estimated rover’s orientation is fully in line with the accurate measurements provided by the onboard Inertial Measurement Units (IMUs). The displacements between the telemetered and the reconstructed rover’s location suggest errors in the WO measurements, which are compensated by our VO estimate.

How to cite: Andolfo, S., Petricca, F., and Genova, A.: Estimation of the NASA Mars2020 Perseverance rover path through Visual Odometry, EGU General Assembly 2022, Vienna, Austria, 23–27 May 2022, EGU22-7695, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu22-7695, 2022.

The challenging science objectives of future planetary missions will require highly accurate trajectory reconstruction of deep space probes. Novel techniques that improve the navigation capabilities are developed with the purpose to expand the scientific return of geophysical investigations across the Solar System. Science instruments that provide geodetic data from the spacecraft orbit may support the orbit determination process in combination with deep space radio tracking measurements. Altimetric data that measure the relative distance of the spacecraft with respect to the celestial body’s surface yield key constraints on the orbit evolution. Differential measurements, from observations that are repeated over the same location (crossover), are less prone to errors associated with surface mismodeling, leading to significant improvements in the estimation of the spacecraft position.

In this work, we present a method based on the combination of ground-based radio science and altimetric crossover measurements to enhance the estimation of the spacecraft orbit and geodetic parameters. The methodology is developed to carry out thorough numerical simulations of mission scenarios, including the generation of synthetic observables. We show the results of our covariance analysis of the NASA mission Europa Clipper by simulating and processing measurements of the Radar for Europa Assessment and Sounding: Ocean to Near-surface (REASON) and the Gravity and Radio science (G/RS) investigations.

How to cite: Del Vecchio, E., Petricca, F., Genova, A., and Mazarico, E.: Geophysical Investigations of Celestial Bodies through the Combination of Radio Science and Altimetric Crossover Data, EGU General Assembly 2022, Vienna, Austria, 23–27 May 2022, EGU22-10668, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu22-10668, 2022.

MiniPINS is an ESA study led by the Finnish Meteorological Institute to develop and prototype miniaturised surface sensor packages (SSPs) for Mars (MINS) and the Moon (LINS). The study aims at miniaturizing the scientific sensors and subsystems, as well as identifying and utilizing commonalities of the packages, allowing to optimise the design, cut costs and reduce the development time. The project has passed its Preliminary Requirements Review in 2021 and is currently in phase B1.

MINS is a penetrator with approx. 25 kg mass, piggy-backed by another Mars mission spacecraft to Mars and deployed either from the approach orbit or Mars orbit. 4 penetrators are planned to be released to different landing sites on Mars. The design of MINS has significant heritage from FMI’s MetNet mission design [1]. In the Martian atmosphere the penetrators undergo aerodynamic braking with inflatable breaking units (IBUs) until they reach the target velocity of 60-80 m/s for entering the Martian surface. The penetration depth target is up to 0.5 m, depending on the hardness of the soil. The geometry of MINS penetrator includes a thin section to improve penetrability to the soil, a medium section with 150 mm diameter to accommodate a 2U CubeSat structure inside, and a top section with a wider diameter to stop the penetration and avoid the top part to be buried inside the soil. The deployable boom is accommodated in the top section along with the surface sensors.

LINS is a miniature 7 kg station deployed on the Moon surface by a rover. The baseline carrier mission for LINS is European Large Logistics Lander (EL3). 4 LINS packages are deployed to different sites within the rover’s traveling perimeter by the rover’s robotic arm. LINS thermal design enables its survival during 14-day long Lunar nights when the temperature drops down to -170 C. LINS consists of a double structure, with external separated from the internal by PEEK blocks. The bottom of LINS can be completely in contact with the lunar regolith, since it is isolated from the internal one, and the space between can accommodate additional thermal insulation. Additional heating power is provided by 3W RHU of European design.

The last stage of the MiniPINS project was a prototyping work package, which was divided into several developments. (i)The main activity was designing and manufacturing a high-impact facility to validate the MINS Penetrators. An existing air-vacuum canyon was combined with a penetration-targeting structure and a three-axis 60kg wireless accelerometer to test the penetrators with different terrains and impact velocities (facility located at INTA, Madrid). (ii) The design of a deployable mechanism for flexible solar panels for MINS by IMDEA. (iii) IMSE’s ASIC technologies qualify for temperatures compatible with the lunar surface (down to -180°C). (iv) A simulator of Lunar regolith for testing the future thermal probes to characterize the lunar regolith for LINS. 

[1] Harri et al. (2017), The MetNet vehicle: a lander to deploy environmental stations for local and global investigations on Mars, Geosci. Instrum. Method. Data Syst., 6, 103-124

How to cite: Genzer, M., Hieta, M., Haukka, H., Arruego, I., Apéstigue, V., Martínez-Oter, J., Gonzalo, A., Manfredi, J. A., Ortega, C., Camañes, C., Dominguez-Pumar, M., Espejo, S., and Guerrero, H. and the MiniPINS team: Miniature Planetary In-situ Sensors (MiniPINS) – Design status and the latest activities, EGU General Assembly 2022, Vienna, Austria, 23–27 May 2022, EGU22-13419, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu22-13419, 2022.