The Science on a Mars Rover
Space taught me to how to dream.
As a science-fiction nerd, I was naturally attracted to the physics of the impossible1. I fantasized about living in a time when humans evolved into intergalactic species, built Dyson spheres2 to power planets, mastered teleportation and hyperspace travel. That is why space exploration missions were my window into a future that held such technological wonders.
When I found out my university’s robotics team had been building a Mars rover to compete in the University Rover Challenge (URC), I jumped at the opportunity to work with them. URC, organized by The Mars Society, is an annual event that challenges university teams to design and build a Mars rover capable of taking on space missions at the Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS) in Utah, US. We finally qualified and participated in the competition in 2018, where I was the Vice-Captain and Scientific Lead for the team.
AIUB Robotic Crew’s Mars rover for URC 2018: Testing terrain traversal and robotic arm capabilities
https://youtu.be/obAhvkVYAqM
The System Acceptance Review from our team that qualified for the University Rover Challenge in 2018
The Scientist on Mars:
Humanity has been speculating for the last few decades – “Is there life beyond Earth?” and “Are there other planets which are habitable for humans one day?”. Extraterrestrial rovers are therefore built to be the eyes and hands of a planetary scientist trying to answer these questions. They operate on the basis of finding and analyzing areas of scientific interest. This could include geological markers such as certain rocks or areas that show past evidence of water flow (water is a necessity for all Earth based organisms).
Our goal in the Science Task was to detect and study microbial life on the Mars Desert Research Station with the help of our rover. Using high definition cameras, the rover was navigated from a base-station to find these ‘interesting’ areas to collect soil samples from. The samples were then investigated for signs of extinct and extant life.
Outline of the Science Task plan
Laboratory on wheels:
As the Science Lead, my job was to design the experiments relating to astrobiology on and off-board the rover. This also included coordinating with mechanical, electric and software sub-teams to develop the instrumentation on-board which would conduct the experiments remotely. The rover was fitted with a science module that could collect caches of soil samples, as well as sensors to read parameters such as soil temperature, moisture, pH and atmospheric conditions.
Image taken from the top of the science module demonstrating the lid closing on the cache containers after sensor readings are taken.
Using the soil samples collected, the science task also required a laboratory analysis with specific chemical and biological assays that would consolidate the existence and nature of microbial life detected. In addition, the investigations also included understanding geochemical processes related to astrobiology and assessing the potential for life to evolve in these environments. All of these findings were then presented to a panel of judges.
Detecting microbes under UV light in soil samples
Measuring organic matter and other elements from soil samples
Lastly, participating in this competition gave me a chance to meet a diverse group of people from many countries who love space travel as much as I do. When working towards stretching the limits of current technology for space missions, new inventions come along that revolutionized eras. From the development of cameras to satellites for communication and navigation, all of us wanted to be part of discovering the next big technological wonder that could change our lives for the better.
1 Also the title of an incredibly compelling book by Dr. Michio Kaku.
2 A hypothetical mega structure popularized by Freeman Dyson in 1960 that completely encompasses a star and captures a large percentage of its power output.