ExoMars Activities at Aberystwyth University

One of the BIG science questions is: "Is there, or has there been, life on Mars?" In 2018 a European Space Agency (ESA) rover called ExoMars will be launched on a journey to find out. ExoMars is part of the ESA Aurora exploration programme. This is a long-term plan for the robotic and human exploration of the solar system with emphasis on Mars, our Moon and the asteroids. The search for life beyond the Earth is a key objective. ExoMars is the first Aurora Flagship mission. (Computer graphics generated image of the ExoMars rover Phase B1 concept. Credit ESA)

Of the 14 ESA nations participating in Aurora and ExoMars, the UK is the 2nd largest contributor. Aberystwyth's involvement includes: ExoMars Panoramic Camera (PanCam) Instrument. Co-I and member of the 3D vision team. P-I for the PanCam Calibration Target (PCT). ExoMars Robotic Arm Autonomous Sample Acquisition). PI - involves UK STFC funded research and a Beagle 2 arm study. ExoMars Rover Inspection Mirror (RIM). PI - involves the PanCam and robotic arm. ExoMars Rover Operations Control Centre (ROCC) – Mars Terrain Simulator (MTS). PI for robotics, Phase B1 Study. (The Aberystwyth rover is built on a Concept-E chassis. This has six wheels and each can be independently driven and steered, and it has a 'wheel walking' capability - movie here. Shown below is the Aberystwyth multi-spectral PanCam.)

To develop and test our ExoMars work, we have created a 'Mars Yard' facility complete with Mars Soil Simulant-D (from DLR), and rock science targets. This soil is geophysically analogous to Martian regolith. There is also a region where sub-surface samples can be taken using rover drills and Moles. (The Aberystwyth Planetary Analogue Terrain Laboratory - PATLab). Here we are testing our autonomous sample acquisition algorithms. Images from our PanCam are processed to identify rocks with a high science value. From this data, a rock's 3D position is calculated allowing the rover's arm to be placed against the rock's surface - time-lapse movie here.

ExoMars Funding and Selected Publications:

Current and Past Funding

• UK STFC, Stereo Wide-Angle Cameras for the ExoMars Panoramic Camera Instrument, Comp. Sci. PI: Barnes D, 01/04/07 – 30/05/13.
  In collaboration with UCL MSSL.
• UK STFC, Solar System Physics - Planetary Robotics: IMAPS/Computer Science Rolling Grant, Comp. Sci. PI: Barnes D, 01/04/07 – 31/03/2012.
• ESA, ExoMars Phase B1 Rover Vehicle Instrument Deployment Arm, Comp. Sci. PI: Barnes D, 20/11/07 – 07/03/08.
  In collaboration with EADS Astrium Ltd.
• ESA, ExoMars Rover Operations Control Centre – Mars Terrain Simulator, Phase B1 Study, Comp. Sci. PI: Barnes D, 17/09/07 – 17/12/07.
  In collaboration with DATASAT Europe Ltd.
• UK PPARC CREST, Interplanetary Rover Technology: Autonomous Robot Planetary Scientist, Comp. Sci. PI: Barnes D, 01/04/06 – 17/10/2007.
  Project led by EADS Astrium Ltd., and in collaboration with SciSys Ltd., and the Universities of Leicester and Strathclyde.
• UK HEFCW SRIF3, Planetary Analogue Terrain Laboratory, Comp. Sci. PI: Barnes D, 01/04/06 – 31/05/2007.

Selected Publications

• Barnes, D, Pugh, S, Tyler, L, Autonomous Science Target Identification and Acquisition (ASTIA) for Planetary Exploration, IEEE/RSJ Int. Conf. on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS 2009), October 11-15, 2009, St. Louis, USA. CD-ROM proceedings, pp. 3329-3335. PDF version available.
• Woods, M, Shaw, A, Barnes, D, Price, D, Long, D, Pullan, D, Autonomous Science for an ExoMars Rover-Like Mission, Journal of Field Robotics, Special Issue on Space Robotics, Part II, vol. 26, issue 4, pp. 358-390. (2009), doi: 10.1002/rob.20289.
• Barnes, D, Autonomous Surface Sample Acquisition for Planetary and Lunar Exploration, European Planetary Science Congress, EPSC2007-A-00392, Potsdam, Germany, 19-24 August (2007). PDF version available.
• Barnes, D, The ExoMars Rover Inspection Mirror (RIM): New opportunities for Mars surface science, Geophysical Research Abstracts, Vol. 9, 10815, SRef-ID: 1607-7962/gra/EGU2007-A-10815, European Geosciences Union, Vienna, Austria, 15-20 April (2007). PDF version available.
• Barnes, D, Shaw, A, Pugh, S, Autonomous Sample Acquisition for the ExoMars Rover, In Proc. 9th ESA Workshop on Advanced Space Technologies for Robotics and Automation (ASTRA 2006), ESTEC, Noordwijk, The Netherlands, 28-30 November 2006. PDF version available.
• Barnes, D, Battistelli, E., Bertrand, R., Butera, F., Chatila, R., Del Biancio, A., Draper, C., Ellery, A., Gelmi, R., Ingrand, F., Koeck, C., Lacroix, S., Lamon, P., Lee, C., Magnani, P., Patel, N., Pompei, C., Re, E., Richter, L., Roe, M., Siegwart, R., Slade, R., Smith, M., Terrien, G., Wall, R., Ward, R., Waugh, L., Woods, M., The ExoMars Rover and Pasteur Payload Phase A Study: An Approach To Experimental Astrobiology, International Journal of Astrobiology, Vol. 5, Issue 03, July 2006, pp. 221-241, doi:10.1017/S1473550406003090.
• Griffiths, A, Coates, A, Jaumann, R, Michaelis, H, Paar, G, Barnes, D, Josset, J-L, Context for the ESA ExoMars Rover: the Panoramic Camera (PanCam) Instrument, International Journal of Astrobiology, Vol. 5, Issue 03, July 2006, pp. 269-275, doi: 10.1017/S1473550406003387.

The information provided on this and other pages by me, Dave Barnes, is under my own personal responsibility and not that of Aberystwyth University. Similarly, any opinions expressed are my own and are in no way to be taken as those of Aberystwyth University.