Today’s Mars walkers (like perseverance or curiosity, pictured here) usually have to work alone, … [+]
NASA / JPL-Caltech / MSSS
When persecution took place on Mars on Thursday (February 18) a few busy months began for rulers on Earth. Percy is too far away for anyone on Earth to steer by hand, so he will continue to receive commands and execute them on his own, far from any human help.
NASA is well versed in this type of approach – after all, it has operated four other rovers on the surface of the Red Planet (Sojourner, Opportunity, Spirit and the Curiosity that still running in 2012). But as we learned from remote communication, the question is always there – how might things change if an astronaut were to work with the robot, or in an orbit above Mars?
As far as 2019, NASA said it had dreams of sending people on a mission to Mars by 2035. The timeline may not last (due to funding priorities, among other things), but missions appear to be with inevitable people as we have been talking. they badly from time to time of the space age. Already, the European Space Agency has conducted experiments with astronauts on the International Space Station working rovers on Earth, to prepare for a Martian event in a few decades.
Back in 2019, for example, ISS astronaut Luca Parmitano handled a rover grip on Earth that is just as dexterous as a human hand. From his perch in space, he instructed the robot to take rock samples. It could “feel” the rocks through force feedback control, like advanced game cheers or token controllers that let you vibrate as you control characters or objects in a game. video.
This “gripper” was a European Space Agency rover on Earth under the control of an astronaut in space.
ESA – G. Porter
“Think of the robot as Luca’s avatar on Earth, giving it both vision and touch,” ESA engineer Kjetil Wormnes, who led the Analog-1 Earth test campaign, said in a statement at the time. . “It was equipped with two cameras – one in the palm of his hand, the other in a movable arm – to allow Luca and the scientists in remote locations to monitor and monitor the environment. keep sharp on the rocks. ”
It was not a direct move from Earth to space, as there was still some “latency” or delay. Parmitano had to pay attention to a delay of nearly a second between sending the command from space and the rover executing it. But that’s nothing compared to the time NASA has to account for when they send orders to a rover on Mars. On average, the time delay between planets is 20 minutes – the length of time it takes to place orders at the speed of light.
“In this study situation, in which time delays are very short, we are able to combine the comparative advantages of humans and robots: human for the ability to deal with complex and non-complex environments structured and decision-making, and a dexterous robot capable of handling harsh environments and executing its operator’s orders with precision, ”ESA robotic engineer Thomas Krueger added in the statement.
So in the future, we may have astronauts who will be able to use robots to operate in more challenging environments. Rovers may be able to work at the top of a hill, crawling into creeks. Drones – Percy carrying a test helicopter called Ingenuity – may also be able to fly around even more dangerous terrain, with an astronaut taking control from the surface or from orbit.
We will also get the opportunity to use human-robot interaction on a completely different world, while several countries prepare to expand lunar exploration, perhaps later in the decade. NASA’s Artemis program (which a few days ago, is stepping back from the date it landed on the moon 2024 to allow more time for technical development) plans to equip private landlords and robots. introduced under the Commercial Lunar Payment Services program that supports human missions. So who knows, within a few years we may be able to use Mars motions on the moon.