Design and implementation of payload system of the Zhurong Mars rover

Abstract

<p indent="0mm">Using the scientific payload configured on the Mars rover to explore the Mars surface can conduct high-resolution <italic>in situ</italic> surveys in a critical area of Mars. The scientific payloads configured on the rover include Navigation and Terrain Camera (NaTeCam), Multispectral Camera (MSCam), Mars Rover Penetrating Radar (RoPeR), Mars Surface Composition Detector (MarSCoDe), Mars Rover Magnetometer (RoMAG) and Mars Climate Station (MCS). The payloads are controlled and managed by the integrated payload controller. In view of the demand for autonomous control of multiple payloads for collaborative scientific exploration under the resource shortage condition, the centralized payloads control method was adopted, and a novel integrated hardware architecture of payloads electronics, and payloads data management was established. An efficient autonomous payloads explore mode based on the working mode program was innovatively designed, and several health management measures were taken to perform fault detection, isolation and recovery (FDIR). The Zhurong Mars rover has successfully completed the scheduled exploration mission. All payloads work normally, and the exploration data are valid. This paper introduces the design and implementation of the payload system of the Mars rover.