![](\"http:\/\/www.esa.int\/var\/esa\/storage\/images\/esa_multimedia\/videos\/2015\/11\/time-lapse_rover_testing\/15666930-1-eng-GB\/Time-lapse_rover_testing_small.png\")
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\nA sped-up view of ESA-CNES rover \u2018egress\u2019 testing that took place in one of Europe\u2019s largest mock-Mars landscapes.\n<\/p>\n
\nEvery journey begins with a single step \u2013 or in this case a downward trundle.\n<\/p>\n
\nThe egress of Europe\u2019s ExoMars 2018 rover off its lander will be the second most stressful moment of the mission after Mars landing.\n<\/p>\n
\nSo to build up experience in the problem, a half-scale rover on a mock-up lander was placed in the outdoor 80 x 50 m \u2018Mars Yard\u2019 of French space agency CNES for a two-day test campaign on 28-29 October.\n<\/p>\n
\nIt was controlled remotely by a team based at ESA\u2019s ESTEC technical centre, a thousand kilometres away in the Netherlands.\n<\/p>\n
\nThey were given no idea where in the sprawling Mars Yard the rover was located for each test scenario \u2013 the only information they could access came from cameras and sensors in the rover and lander.\n<\/p>\n
\nAdding to the difficulty, real-time remote control of the rover was out \u2013 the sheer distance to Mars will make it impractical reality. Instead they could receive telemetry at regular intervals then send back a to-do list of telecommands.\n<\/p>\n
\nFor the purposes of testing these communication passes came once every hour \u2013 in reality they would occur once or twice a day.\n<\/p>\n
\nThe team on the ESTEC side came from ESA\u2019s Automation and Robotics section and ExoMars project<\/a> as well as from industrial partners Trasys Space Belgium, Thales Alenia Space Italy and Altec Italy. In addition the testing was also tracked from ESA\u2019s ESOC control centre in Darmstadt, Germany.\n<\/p>\n \nFor each egress they worked to build up a detailed virtual model of the rover\u2019s surroundings, as well as stitching together a panorama from the various camera views.\n<\/p>\n \nThe lander has two sets of ramps down to the surface, so the team had to decide which way down was safer. This video shows a rapid time-lapse version of the whole process \u2013 in reality the rover took more than two minutes to egress off the lander each time.\n<\/p>\n \nA total of five egress tests were performed: four ended in success and one in failure \u2013 the rover descended down at too steep an angle and began to topple off. In real life the mission would have ended there, but in this case it was safely caught by helping hands.\n<\/p>\n \nThe incident demonstrated the importance of such simulations, which also allowed the practical testing of various software tools developed over years of research.\n<\/p>\n \nThe testing was organised by ESA\u2019s Planetary Robotics Laboratory<\/a> in cooperation with CNES and ESOC. The results will be used will be valuable inputs in the design of the actual ExoMars mission.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \t\t\t\t\t \nA sped-up view of ESA-CNES rover \u2018egress\u2019 testing that took place in one of Europe\u2019s largest mock-Mars landscapes.\n<\/p>\n \nEvery journey begins with a single step \u2013 or in this case a downward trundle.\n<\/p>\n \nThe egress of Europe\u2019s ExoMars 2018 rover off its lander will be the second most stressful moment of the mission after Mars landing.\n<\/p>\n \nSo to build up experience in the problem, a half-scale rover on a mock-up lander was placed in the outdoor 80 x 50 m \u2018Mars Yard\u2019 of French space agency CNES for a two-day test campaign on 28-29 October.\n<\/p>\n \nIt was controlled remotely by a team based at ESA\u2019s ESTEC technical centre, a thousand kilometres away in the Netherlands.\n<\/p>\n \nThey were given no idea where in the sprawling Mars Yard the rover was located for each test scenario \u2013 the only information they could access came from cameras and sensors in the rover and lander.\n<\/p>\n \nAdding to the difficulty, real-time remote control of the rover was out \u2013 the sheer distance to Mars will make it impractical reality. Instead they could receive telemetry at regular intervals then send back a to-do list of telecommands.\n<\/p>\n \nFor the purposes of testing these communication passes came once every hour \u2013 in reality they would occur once or twice a day.\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n