{"id":788829,"date":"2024-09-11T16:41:51","date_gmt":"2024-09-11T21:41:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/?p=788829"},"modified":"2024-09-11T16:41:51","modified_gmt":"2024-09-11T21:41:51","slug":"a-swarm-of-robots-to-explore-mars-valles-marineris","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/?p=788829","title":{"rendered":"A Swarm of Robots to Explore Mars’ Valles Marineris"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Mars is known for its unique geological features. Olympus Mons is a massive shield volcano 2.5 times taller than Mt. Everest. Hellas Planitia is the largest visible impact crater in the Solar System. However, Mars\u2019 most striking feature is Valles Marineris, the largest canyon in the Solar System. <\/p>\n

This fascinating geological feature begs to be explored, and a team of German researchers think that a swarm of robots is best suited to the task.<\/p>\n

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Valles Marineris (VM) is named after NASA\u2019s Mariner 9 spacecraft, which discovered the massive canyon in 1971. It\u2019s about 4,000 km long, 8 km deep at its deepest point, and 600 km wide in some places. These measurements dwarf the Grand Canyon in the USA. <\/p>\n

From a distance, VM looks like a scab on Mars\u2019s surface. It\u2019s an interconnected network of chasms, faults, valleys, and probably caves. Unlike the Grand Canyon, VM wasn\u2019t excavated by a flowing river. Instead, scientists think it was likely formed by rift faults, regions on the surface where plates receded from one another.<\/p>\n

Annotated close-up of High-Resolution Stereo Camera images of Valles Marineris. The HRSC is an instrument on the ESA\u2019s Mars Express mission. Credit: ESA\/DLR\/FU Berlin (G. Michael)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

German scientists are developing a way to explore this unique region. It\u2019s called the Valles Marineris Explorer (VaMEx), and the idea dates back several years. VaMEx is an initiative of the German Aerospace Centre (DLR) and it\u2019s making significant progress. <\/p>\n

NASA\u2019s Mars rovers have made great progress in understanding Mars and its potentially habitable past. They\u2019re incredible machines that put humanity\u2019s inventiveness on display. But they\u2019re ill-suited to rough, obstacle-strewn terrain like Valles Mariners. Instead of building one robotic vehicle, VaMEx will build several types of vehicles and stationary units that will work together to explore VM and its chasms, valley walls, and caves. <\/p>\n

VaMEx will be a swarm of interconnected vehicles that fly, move across the ground, and visit caves in VM. They\u2019ll be linked with a ground station that acts as a command center, and a satellite will provide communications with Earth. The vehicles will collect images and data and send them to the command center and an orbiter or satellite, then to Earth. <\/p>\n

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This image outlines the different components of the VaMEx Mars Symphony concept. Image Credit: Clemens Riegler \/ University of Wuerzburg<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

VaMEx is particularly aimed at caves that scientists think are likely plentiful in VM. Caves are protected from radiation, and if Mars hosted simple life in its past, there may be traces of it deep in these caves. VaMEx also includes ground repeater stations that will allow cave-exploring robots to share data and images in real time. <\/p>\n

All of this will require finely tuned communications. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe have given our sub-project the name \u2018VaMEx3-MarsSymphony\u2019 because the aim is to make the individual elements of the robot swarm play together harmoniously like an orchestra,\u201d said project leader Professor Hakan Kayal. Kayal is a professor of Astronautics at the Satellite Mission Control Centre at the University of W\u00fcrzburg.<\/p>\n

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The walls of Valles Mariners are an ideal place to study Mars\u2019 layered geology, as shown in this HiRISE image of layered deposits. Scientists can learn about the planet\u2019s geological history without the need for excavation. Image Credit: NASA\/JPL\/UA\/HiRISE<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Units called autorotation bodies are also part of the swarm. Autorotation is a term from rotary-wing (helicopter) flight. It describes a situation where power to the rotors is lost, and as the helicopter falls toward Earth, air makes the rotors spin, providing enough energy for a controlled descent. VaMEx\u2019s autorotation bodies aren\u2019t helicopters. They\u2019re like maple seeds, which float gently to the ground, spinning as they descend. Once they\u2019ve reached the surface, they\u2019re stationary.<\/p>\n

VaMEx is also taking an unusual approach to cameras. The stationary ground station will feature a camera that monitors the Martian sky. \u201cAll previous Mars missions have focussed on the surface of the planet, but we want to look upwards for the first time,\u201d says Hakan Kayal. The camera can monitor cloud formation and dust in the atmosphere. It will also capture any transient phenomena like unusual cloud illumination or lightning. <\/p>\n

NASA\u2019s Mars rovers have occasionally imaged the Martian sky. The gif below is from the Perseverance rover, which used one of its navigation cameras to capture images. A purpose-built sky-monitoring camera would image the Martian sky like never before. <\/p>\n