Desert Falcon's Archives
By SPACE.com Staff
posted: 24 March 2010
11:36 am ET
NASA's Mars rover Opportunity is getting a chance to call its own science shots on the red planet.
New software uploaded to the intrepid robot now allows Opportunity to make its own decisions about whether or not to make additional observations of Mars rocks it spots when it arrives at a new location.
The rover has already taken its first automated images of Martian rocks to test out how well the new program works.
Opportunity, now in its seventh year on Mars along with its sister Spirit, is currently making good progress to its next target, the large crater Endeavor. At that destination, and all along its about 7-mile (12-km) journey there, Opportunity will analyze rocks and other features of its surroundings to help scientists learn more about the Martian terrain.
The new software system on Opportunity is called Autonomous Exploration for Gathering Increased Science, or AEGIS.
With it, Opportunity's computer can examine images that the rover takes with its wide-angle navigation camera after a drive, and recognize rocks that meet specified criteria, such as rounded shape or light color. It can then center its narrower-angle panoramic camera on the chosen target and take multiple images through color filters.
Using the software on Opportunity is a way to take advantage of the rover's longevity to test out advances in robotic autonomy for future missions.
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