The University of Western Ontario

Published purpose

The Mars Helicopter Ingenuity that accompanied NASA’s Mars 2020 Rover Perseverance was a successful demonstration of the use of small Unmanned Aerial Systems (sUAS) in planetary exploration. The identification of high priority samples on planetary surfaces is typically achieved through either rover-only or combined rover/orbiter mission architectures. One of the great benefits of using sUAS in rover operations is the high-resolution “local” view they provide of the field site, filling the gap between wide-area satellite coverage and the “close-up” view provided by rovers. This project will provide support for Canadian trainees to participate in the NASA funded Rover-Aerial Vehicle Exploration Network (RAVEN). The RAVEN project seeks to test mission architectures that integrate both sUAS and rovers for the future exploration of Mars. The specific goals of this project are to support the RAVEN team during field-based deployments at the Holuhraun analogue site, a lava flow field in Iceland, through assistance in testing different science operations plans for rover, sUAS, and combined rover/sUAS mission architectures, and determining the ideal instrumentation suite on a rover platform for planetary exploration. By including sUAS in planetary exploration, we will provide new and improved operational scenarios for landed missions on other planets and moons. This project will also provide opportunities for Canadian trainees to work alongside researchers in different disciplines from other countries, immersing them in real-life science operations scenarios. This experience will give the trainees key skills needed for future employment in the Canadian space sector. This project is also an opportunity for Canada to strengthen its participation in international collaborations in this field.