Collaborative Multimodal System for Long-Distance Planetary Exploration (Continuation)

Abstract

Record ID: 61

Mentorship Awards: Excellence in Research Mentoring

Presenter Award: Excellence in Research Communication

Advisor: Kelly Cohen

Abstract: As manned missions to the Moon and Mars approach reality, measures must be taken to ensure the success and safety of such long-distance missions. Before humans can travel to the Moon or Mars, infrastructure for supporting life must be there. Needs such as shelter, food production, and the scouting for a location to set up these needs can be prepared in advance by unmanned aerial and ground systems. To date, when rovers reach the end of their working life on Mars, they are left there. A collaborative system made up of unmanned aerial systems (UAS) and unmanned ground systems (UGS), could address the problem of vehicle sustainability both on and off Earth. The collaborative system could provide additional capabilities such as recharging and the ability for a UGV to retrieve and repair a small UAS or another UGS. Some additional capabilities to a prototype system will be discussed. This research will evaluate previous Mars missions, their successes and limitations, and how collaboration between vehicles can solve some of these problems for future exploration.