ATMOSPHINDER
Atmosphinder investigates the geomorphic processes in the south polar region of Mars of seasonal eruptions and the important role it plays in the atmospheric system. The experimental prototype is a 7 ft tall rover with 2.4 m2 of sails to catch the wind. As the wind pushes the sails, the hoops begin to turn about a central bearing that is stabilized by reaction wheels. The electronics payload is suspended in the roll cage. The electronics are used to control sail trimming, precision drive module, sensors, reaction wheels, and lights. To conduct three science objectives, the prototype will be tested at the Mars Desert Research Station with Crew 261 in May 2023.
Atmosphinder is being developed by Erin Kennedy (lean more at robotzwrrl.xyz)
PROJECT LEAD: Erin Kennedy
RATIONALE / HYPOTHESIS
Deploying the Atmosphinder prototype at MDRS in a simulation environment will seek to achieve the following science objectives:
1. Autonomous navigation control of rover as propelled by varying wind speed and direction
2. Conduct a visual survey of the terrain, zonal boundaries, troughs, and rocks
3. Collect environmental sensor payload data
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS
STRUCTURE:
● Height: 2.2 m (7.3 ft)
● Width: 2.5 m (8.2 ft)
● Roll cage width: 0.7 m (2.3 ft)
● Total sail area: 2.4 m^2
● Sail dimension: 0.8 m x 1.5 m
● Tire circumference: 13.9 m (45.6 ft)
● Mass (estimated): 7 kg
● Total length of PVC pipes: 175.3 ft
ELECTRONICS:
(Coming soon)
DISCUSSION
WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT?
Winds are a surprisingly significant environmental process! On Earth, grains of sand are transported across vast distances, such as from the Saharan desert to the Amazon rainforest, providing nutrients for plant proteins and growth [20]. On Mars, the winds similarly transport fine-grained sediments, as seen by orbital studies from High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) on Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) [19].
The seasonal eruptions in the south polar region of Mars is a phenomenon similar to geysers, but with sublimating CO2 gas [1, 2, 3, 5]. Winds are estimated to range from 1 m/s to 9 m/s in the region of interest (Manhattan, Mars) [6], which is equivalent to 0.5 km/h to 4.2 km/h on Earth [99]. It is hypothesized that these eruptions play a role in Mars global dust storms as the expelled dust drifts over 100 km [35].
Although these erupting jets are a daily active process, an active plume occurs for only 1-2 hours [5] and is challenging to observe from satellites [10]. The outcomes from Atmosphinder would provide a ground truth to existing satellite imagery, enabling a better relation of this phenomena to Mars’ climate model.
EXTRAVEHICULAR ACTIVITY (EVA) STRUCTURE:
There will be a total of 7 EVAs. 4 of which conduct drive tests and a series of autonomous mode tests. In between the EVAs, the logged sensor data is used to improve the functionality of autonomous mode. The final 3 EVAs conduct fully autonomous distance challenges, with minor assistance from the astronauts.