How do you control a Mars rover? A NASA mechanical engineer's story
Posted: Sat Feb 01, 2025 10:43 am
Evan Hilgemann, a mechanical engineer at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, shared his story about how Mars rovers explore the planet and travel far from Earth. We've translated his story for you.
More than a year ago, I was lucky enough to be part of the team of scientists and engineers responsible for operating the Curiosity rover. Since then, I have learned a lot about Mars rovers. But there is still more to learn. Spirit, Opportunity, Curiosity, and Perseverance are some of the most complex and robust robots ever built by humans. However, the tools and techniques used to operate the rovers are quite simple to learn and understand. And that is a good thing, because on February 18, Perseverance will land on the surface of Mars, after which it will be sent to study the planet. Now my task is to tell you how to operate a Mars rover. When the new rover arrives on Mars, you will already understand what is happening and how it all works.
Much of this article is a summary of my experience operating Curiosity. Keep in mind that Spirit and Opportunity are very similar to their successors in this regard. The same technologies and methods will be used to operate Perseverance, so there aren't too many significant differences.
Foundations
The main thing you need to know is that Mars is very, very far away paraguay number data from us. A radio signal sent from Earth reaches the surface of Mars in 22 minutes. Therefore, real-time control is not an option. In addition, Curiosity receives information from Earth once a day. The rest of the time it is left to itself. There is no question of any autonomy: the Mars rover has a limited set of actions that it can perform independently. Most of what the rover does is planned and programmed into the device's memory back on Earth.
Of course, there are a couple of exceptions: some problems the rover must be able to solve on its own. But most of these solutions are stopping and waiting for instructions from Earth in response to some external factor. Aegis has a certain degree of autonomy - a system that can independently select a piece of rock at which Curiosity should "shoot" a laser.
Look under your feet.
The main task of the rover operator is to ensure its safety throughout the entire journey on Mars. Therefore, it is necessary to carefully evaluate all possible options for their actions. NASA's Mars rovers have several cameras, thanks to which the rover forms a "picture" as if seen by human eyes. There are also hazcams, "danger cameras", which assess the presence of problems nearby, as well as navcams - navigation cameras that assess the road ahead. There are also other cameras, which, however, are mainly used for scientific tasks, so I will refrain from describing the principle of their operation.
More than a year ago, I was lucky enough to be part of the team of scientists and engineers responsible for operating the Curiosity rover. Since then, I have learned a lot about Mars rovers. But there is still more to learn. Spirit, Opportunity, Curiosity, and Perseverance are some of the most complex and robust robots ever built by humans. However, the tools and techniques used to operate the rovers are quite simple to learn and understand. And that is a good thing, because on February 18, Perseverance will land on the surface of Mars, after which it will be sent to study the planet. Now my task is to tell you how to operate a Mars rover. When the new rover arrives on Mars, you will already understand what is happening and how it all works.
Much of this article is a summary of my experience operating Curiosity. Keep in mind that Spirit and Opportunity are very similar to their successors in this regard. The same technologies and methods will be used to operate Perseverance, so there aren't too many significant differences.
Foundations
The main thing you need to know is that Mars is very, very far away paraguay number data from us. A radio signal sent from Earth reaches the surface of Mars in 22 minutes. Therefore, real-time control is not an option. In addition, Curiosity receives information from Earth once a day. The rest of the time it is left to itself. There is no question of any autonomy: the Mars rover has a limited set of actions that it can perform independently. Most of what the rover does is planned and programmed into the device's memory back on Earth.
Of course, there are a couple of exceptions: some problems the rover must be able to solve on its own. But most of these solutions are stopping and waiting for instructions from Earth in response to some external factor. Aegis has a certain degree of autonomy - a system that can independently select a piece of rock at which Curiosity should "shoot" a laser.
Look under your feet.
The main task of the rover operator is to ensure its safety throughout the entire journey on Mars. Therefore, it is necessary to carefully evaluate all possible options for their actions. NASA's Mars rovers have several cameras, thanks to which the rover forms a "picture" as if seen by human eyes. There are also hazcams, "danger cameras", which assess the presence of problems nearby, as well as navcams - navigation cameras that assess the road ahead. There are also other cameras, which, however, are mainly used for scientific tasks, so I will refrain from describing the principle of their operation.