Aerospace (Jun 2024)
Vision System for the Mars Sample Return Capture Containment and Return System (CCRS)
- Brent J. Bos,
- David L. Donovan,
- John I. Capone,
- Chen Wang,
- Terra C. Hardwick,
- Dylan E. Bell,
- Yuqing Zhu,
- Robert Podgurski,
- Bashar Rizk,
- Ireneusz Orlowski,
- Rachel A. Edison,
- David A. Harvey,
- Brianna Dizon,
- Lindsay Haseltine,
- Kristoffer C. Olsen,
- Chad Sheng,
- Robert R. Bousquet,
- Luan Q. Vo,
- Georgi T. Georgiev,
- Kristen A. Washington,
- Michael J. Singer,
- Stefan Ioana,
- Anloc H. Le,
- Elena M. Georgieva,
- Michael T. Hackett,
- Michael A. Ravine,
- Michael Caplinger,
- Phillip Coulter,
- Erin Percy,
- Charles Torisky,
- Jean-Marie Lauenstein,
- Kaitlyn L. Ryder,
- Michael J. Campola,
- Dillon E. Johnstone,
- William J. Thomes,
- Richard G. Schnurr,
- John C. McCloskey,
- Eugenia L. De Marco,
- Ellen Lee,
- Calinda M. Yew,
- Bo Yang,
- Mingyu Han,
- Bartosz Blonski
Affiliations
- Brent J. Bos
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
- David L. Donovan
- McCallie Associates, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
- John I. Capone
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
- Chen Wang
- KBR Incorporated, Houston, TX 20771, USA
- Terra C. Hardwick
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
- Dylan E. Bell
- Genesis Engineering Solutions, Lanham, MD 20706, USA
- Yuqing Zhu
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
- Robert Podgurski
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
- Bashar Rizk
- Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA
- Ireneusz Orlowski
- Genesis Engineering Solutions, Lanham, MD 20706, USA
- Rachel A. Edison
- Genesis Engineering Solutions, Lanham, MD 20706, USA
- David A. Harvey
- Genesis Engineering Solutions, Lanham, MD 20706, USA
- Brianna Dizon
- Genesis Engineering Solutions, Lanham, MD 20706, USA
- Lindsay Haseltine
- Genesis Engineering Solutions, Lanham, MD 20706, USA
- Kristoffer C. Olsen
- Genesis Engineering Solutions, Lanham, MD 20706, USA
- Chad Sheng
- Genesis Engineering Solutions, Lanham, MD 20706, USA
- Robert R. Bousquet
- Genesis Engineering Solutions, Lanham, MD 20706, USA
- Luan Q. Vo
- Genesis Engineering Solutions, Lanham, MD 20706, USA
- Georgi T. Georgiev
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
- Kristen A. Washington
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
- Michael J. Singer
- Aerodyne Industries, Cape Canaveral, FL 32920, USA
- Stefan Ioana
- Aerodyne Industries, Cape Canaveral, FL 32920, USA
- Anloc H. Le
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
- Elena M. Georgieva
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
- Michael T. Hackett
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
- Michael A. Ravine
- Malin Space Science Systems, San Diego, CA 92121, USA
- Michael Caplinger
- Malin Space Science Systems, San Diego, CA 92121, USA
- Phillip Coulter
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
- Erin Percy
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
- Charles Torisky
- Genesis Engineering Solutions, Lanham, MD 20706, USA
- Jean-Marie Lauenstein
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
- Kaitlyn L. Ryder
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
- Michael J. Campola
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
- Dillon E. Johnstone
- Science Systems and Applications, Lanham, MD 20706, USA
- William J. Thomes
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
- Richard G. Schnurr
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
- John C. McCloskey
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
- Eugenia L. De Marco
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
- Ellen Lee
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
- Calinda M. Yew
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
- Bo Yang
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
- Mingyu Han
- United States Naval Academy, Annapolis, MD 21402, USA
- Bartosz Blonski
- United States Naval Academy, Annapolis, MD 21402, USA
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.3390/aerospace11060456
- Journal volume & issue
-
Vol. 11,
no. 6
p. 456
Abstract
The successful 2020 launch and 2021 landing of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) Perseverance Mars rover initiated the first phase of the NASA and European Space Agency (ESA) Mars Sample Return (MSR) campaign. The goal of the MSR campaign is to collect scientifically interesting samples from the Martian surface and return them to Earth for further study in terrestrial laboratories. The MSR campaign consists of three major spacecraft components to accomplish this objective: the Perseverance Mars rover, the Sample Retrieval Lander (SRL) and the Earth Return Orbiter (ERO). Onboard the ERO spacecraft is the Capture, Containment and Return System (CCRS). CCRS will capture, process and return to Earth the samples that have been collected after they are launched into Mars orbit by the Mars Ascent Vehicle (MAV), which is delivered to Mars onboard the SRL. To facilitate the processing of the orbiting sample (OS) via the CCRS, we have designed and developed a vision system to determine the OS capture orientation. The vision system is composed of two cameras sensitive to the visible portion of the electromagnetic spectrum and two illumination modules constructed from broadband light emitting diodes (LED). Vision system laboratory tests and physics-based optical simulations predict CCRS ground processing will be able to correctly identify the OS post-capture orientation using only a single vision system image that is transmitted to Earth from Mars orbit.
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