Mission Control demonstrated AI-powered autonomy on a micro-rover ahead of commercial missions to the Moon.
We partnered with Axiom Research Labs Private Limited (ARL) of on a project called Mission Control Intelligence (MCI): Enhancing the Autonomy of Commercial Space Robotics.
ADVANCED MISSION OPERATIONS
MCI is a suite of cutting-edge technologies that will enable mission operators to make key decisions in science and navigation operations with greater speed and confidence. MCI is designed to meet the growing demand for artificial intelligence (AI)-powered robotic missions to improve safety and productivity and enable the future of low-cost autonomous space missions. It will open new possibilities in exploration.
FLIGHT AND GROUND SYSTEM INTEGRATION
Mission Control integrated its MCI suite onto flight and ground systems developed by ARL, including ARL’s commercially available micro-rover, Ek Choti si Asha (ECA). The software applications and novel autonomy capabilities are independent of the rover platform, enabling us to integrate these technologies into future missions including a potential Canadian micro-rover mission.
To test and validate how the MCI suite can benefit science operations with the ECA rover, Mission Control and ARL hosted a series of tests in Mission Control’s Moonyard, a high-fidelity lunar analogue environment at its facility in Ottawa, Canada.
To enable geographically distributed teams to operate the rover in tests and spaceflight missions, Mission Control also leveraged its Mission Control Software platform, a cloud-based platform of mission operations software for space exploration, autonomous systems, and robotic applications. Mission Control Software played a critical role in allowing all participants to remotely interface with the rover and mission.
