Feb. 25, 1999
Douglas Isbell
Headquarters, Washington, DC
(Phone: 202/358-1547)
Michael Mewhinney
Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA
(Phone: 650/604-3937)
Kelly Humphries / Phil West
Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX
(Phone: 281/483-5111) RELEASE: 99-27 NASA
is testing a remotely operated planetary rover and an advanced prototype spacesuit
in southern California this week to see how robots and humans might someday
work best together to explore other planets.
A team of scientists and engineers from NASA's Ames Research
Center (ARC), Moffett Field, CA, and Johnson Space Center (JSC), Houston,
TX, is conducting the first field test involving the Russian-built Marsokhod
and a geologist wearing a NASA advanced prototype spacesuit. Dubbed the Astronaut-Rover
Interaction for Planetary Surface Exploration (ASRO) experiment, the four-day
primary science mission was conducted Feb. 22-25 in the Mojave Desert, east
of Los Angeles; a public demonstration will be held on Feb. 27.
The rover activity is led by Ames, while JSC provided the
spacesuit, visual-tracking software, and associated human space exploration
expertise. Together, the team hopes to develop a synergistic relationship
between the two explorers.
"We want to obtain a preliminary assessment of human
interaction with a rover for future planetary exploration, and find out how
they can best help each other," explained ASRO Project Science Leader
Dr. Nathalie Cabrol of Ames. "We want to be ready when it is time to
start human surface exploration on other planets."
"NASA envisions future planetary surface spacewalks
to be a cooperative effort, with robots assisting humans to increase productivity
during these time-limited excursions away from the base station," said
Robert Yowell of the Extravehicular Activity Projects Office at JSC.
The ASRO Project should improve the safety and performance
of human surface operations, and therefore help minimize the cost of human
planetary missions. Specifically, the team hopes to learn how the rover and
the astronauts can collaborate in various operational tasks, leading to recommendations
for improving the designs of future advanced spacesuits and rovers.
"The test is part of a continuing NASA effort to better
identify the challenges facing future human explorers of other worlds, and
the technologies that will be needed to meet those challenges," explained
Joyce Carpenter, Deputy Manager of the JSC Exploration Office. "While
we are in the early stages of learning how to explore other planets, NASA
has not identified any specific human missions beyond Earth's orbit."
NASA acquired the Marsokhod rover from Russia and equipped
it with improved avionics, computers and science instruments. It features
six titanium wheels, a robotic arm to pick up soil samples and stereo video
cameras mounted on a pan-and-tilt platform to transmit live images of the
field test via a satellite back to scientists at Ames. The 165-pound (75-kilogram)
rover is three feet (one meter) wide and 4.5 feet (1.5 meters) long, with
a mast that extends about 4.5 feet high to hold the cameras.
The spacesuit is constructed primarily of fabric, with ball
bearings that allow the wearer to move more easily when the suit is inflated
to 3.75 pounds per square inch above the local pressure, as it would be on
the Moon or Mars. A self-contained liquid air backpack provides life support,
cooling, communications and power. The suit and backpack have a weight of
about 150 pounds (68 kilograms) on Earth.
JSC geologist Dean Eppler wore the spacesuit during the test.
The Marsokhod served as a scout and videographer, transmitting advance images
of the site and the geologist's activities back to Ames and JSC. The rover
is equipped with JSC-developed software that should allow it to automatically
track the human explorer's progress and move in response. In addition, the
rover was designed to assist the astronaut by documenting science targets,
and carrying rock samples and spacewalking tools.
Although the field tests are not open to the public, project
scientists plan to showcase the Marsokhod rover and the new spacesuit during
a public demonstration following the science mission. The demonstration will
be conducted in cooperation with the Bureau of Land Management on Saturday,
Feb. 27, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. PST at the Barstow High School stadium, First
and Campus Way, Barstow, CA. For more information about the public demonstration,
please contact Gina Robison at the Bureau of Land Management at 760/252-6000.
Information about the Barstow school can be found on the
school's web site: http://www.barstow.k12.ca.us/bhs/ The public web site for
the Marsokhod field test is located at:
http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/ltc/special/mars/
