The evolution of the curiosity rover sampling chain

Abstract

AbstractThe Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) Curiosity rover landed in Gale crater in August of 2012 on its mission to explore Mt. Sharp as the first planetary rover to collect and analyze rock and regolith samples. On this new mission, sampling operations were conceived to be executed serially and in situ, on a “sample chain” along which sample would be collected, then processed, then delivered to sample analysis instruments, analyzed there, and then discarded so the chain could be repeated. This paper describes the evolution of this relatively simple chain into a richer sampling network, responding to science and engineering desires that came into focus only as the mission matured, scientific discoveries were made, and anomalies were encountered. The rover flight and ground system architectures retained significant heritage from past missions, while extending capabilities in anticipation of the need for adaptation. As evolution occurred, the architecture permitted nimble extension of sampling behavior without time‐consuming flight software updates or significant impact to daily operations. This paper presents the major components of this architecture and discusses some of the results of successful adaptation across thousands of Sols of Mars operations.