Live Forum with Ashley Stroupe

[doublehelix]

Hi everyone, welcome to the home thread of our live Q&A with Ashley Stroupe, to take place today (Thursday), 9/24 at 2 p.m. ET!

Last week we started a thread announcing this event, and we also asked you to submit some questions for Ashley. We sent them over to her and she has responded to some of them. Throughout the day (prior to the event) I will post her answers. For reference, here is the original thread:

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=20100

UPDATE: Thanks to Ashley and our community for a great session!

-dh

[doublehelix]

Here is the first set of questions:

"Has the Mars Rover team examined the possibility of using the rover's instrument arm to maybe help push it out of it's current predicament?" – Synclair

"I was just wondering if the instrument arm was extended to the maximun extent, if this would help increase the down pressure on the wheels in that direction?" - Valenski

"Simply use the instrument arm to counter-balance the wheel by moving it over the wheel opposite the stuck wheel then try moving the rover away from the sand trap.” – rlb2

"Or is there a small rock close by, that the arm could push to the front of a wheel? It that type of movement possible?” - Valenski

"The IDD if I remember correctly is not strong enough to either lift or move Spirit unlike the Robotic Arm on Phoenix Mars Lander that had the strength to drag Phoenix or even flip Phoenix over. The IDDs on the MERS are not that strong are they???" - 3488


Ashley responds:

Several people have questions about using the IDD to help get Spirit out. The IDD is very low in mass and was only designed to exert the forces needed to firmly place instruments on science targets. That means by moving it around barely shifts the rover’s center of gravity and attitude. The arm can only exert at most about 20 pounds of pressure, which is only 13% of what would be needed to lift the rover’s mass on Mars. With that level of force we again could only minimally affect the rover’s attitude, and would not be able to move rocks of any significant size. And if we tried, we would definitely risk damaging the instruments or the IDD itself. If all else fails, we may give one of these strategies a try and hope that the small difference is enough, but these are all very risky, and so far down our list of options.

[doublehelix]

Here is the second set of questions:

Should "MER A Spirit should wait till the Winter, in the hope that the regolith may stiffen up if frost forms on it." or is it true that "Spirit would need to conserve power to survive, probably not enough to attempt a drive" - 3488

Ashley responds:

We have seen frost on Mars, and know this phenomenon happens. Our science team, however, feels that the effects of this would be almost negligible in terms of providing additional traction to the wheels. However, the power state of Spirit is much better than it was going into last winter, and will be able to survive much harsher conditions – so if we needed to continue our efforts into fall and winter, power would likely not be a big issue.


"how useful would it have been if the rovers would have been able to capture, at least, a few seconds of video", and "would it now be a good idea to have an appendage that can actually reach all the wheels" – alwayscurious22

Ashley responds:

Video itself would not have necessarily been helpful. We can simulate “video” by taking images at about one frame per minute. However, we typically don’t have enough data volume to either store that many images or to send them back to Earth. Yes, it might be a “good idea” to have the arm be stronger and able to reach further – however, the extra mass that it would take to build such an arm would make this spacecraft too large and heavy for its launch vehicle. The next rover arm will be stronger.

[doublehelix]

Here is the third set of questions:

"I've often wondered how you guys can drive the rovers and account for the time lag involved" - Smersh

Ashley responds:

The rovers are actually robots, and as such are highly autonomous. We give them a entire day’s worth of activities at once (in the morning) and then at the end of the day they call home and let us know how they did. During the day, they execute the plan, and keep themselves safe from conditions that arise that were not foreseen. Once in a while, during an emergency, we command the rovers real-time, but this almost never involves driving or using the robotic arm.


"How much easier is it to plan the next day's drive now than in the beginning?" – TC_sc

Ashley responds:

We have developed a lot of experience and a lot of tools to help us since the beginning of the mission. However, every day and every place is different and brings new challenges. While I wouldn’t say it has really gotten easier I think I can say it is has gotten a lot more efficient.

[doublehelix]

Here is the fourth set of questions:

"What kind of plans for the long term is the team working on?" - davoyager

"What in your opinion, is the nature of the Von Braun hill & the curious Goddard Crater on the side?" - 3488

"What will be the most difficult part of the journey to Endeavour Crater for Opportunity?" – rlb2

"What is the most important thing that these rovers have taught you?" - cosmictraveler

Ashley Responds:

Long term, the plan for Spirit is to head to von Braun and Goddard, which we believe are some kind of volcanic remnants. For Opportunity, we are heading to Endeavour Crater, still many kilometers away, which will help us see deeper under the surface of Mars and look further into Mars’ past. The hardest part of getting to Endeavour will be time – it’s a very long journey and Mars is a very harsh place: dust storms, sand traps, craters, rocks, and likely things we haven’t encountered yet. The most important thing we have learned from these rovers is that Mars used to be a very wet place – a lot more like home!

[doublehelix]

Here is the final set of questions:

"Do you have advice for a 6th grade child who wants to go to mars in 2020?
What do you suggest I study? Science or math? Do you use more science or math in your job?” - jeffreyb63

Ashley responds:

That really depends on what you are interested in. If you want to do my exact job (the robotics side) it is a good idea to take both math and science, as well as learning to program computers. However, there are lots of jobs working on Mars that require different skills. We have a lot of scientists (who need more of the science classes) and engineers (who need more math but some science). I’d suggest trying everything out and seeing what you find the most fun and interesting and focus on that – then we can figure out how to best apply that interest to going to Mars.

[silylene]

Can we ask questions now?

[AshleyStroupe]

Hello everybody!

[silylene]

Hello Ashley,

About the stuck Spirit...what criteria will be considered prior to resorting to unconventional methods of escape (IDD arm, for example)....or will no unconventional methods be considered, and we will abandon Spirit?

[AshleyStroupe]

Yes you can ask questions now.

[AshleyStroupe]

That's a tough question, about when we'll use "unconventional" methods. We will use these kinds of methods once all of the other methods have demonstrated that they will not be very effective. As long as we are making progress, we will mostly stick to the normal approaches. Also it will depend on the risk associated with the approach. Less risky things we will likely try first.

[AshleyStroupe]

We will definitely not "abandon" Spirit. We will first exhaust all of the approaches we can possibly try - but even after that Spirit can continue for some time to do good science where she is.

[donroos]

Hi Dr. Stroupe - Do you have a time frame in mind for trying to get Spirit un-stuck? What I mean is how long will you try safer options before moving on to the more extreme ones?
Are there budgetary issues to consider as well or will the project keep going as long as Spirit responds?

[AshleyStroupe]

We do not have any particular time frame in mind. We're driven by being sure we have the absolute best plan we can have in order to maximize our chances of success. This is likely to be at least a few more weeks. At this point, the success of the plan is our primary driver, not calendar and not budget.

[tofu702]

Do you know roughly what percentage of the data returned from the rovers is relayed through Mars Odyssey and MRO and what percentage is sent directly to Earth? I would think the latency of using an orbiter as a relay would be very substantial since you have to wait until it happens to pass overhead. I seem to remember this being a topic of discussion in the early missions press conferences.

[silylene]

That's a tough question, about when we'll use "unconventional" methods. We will use these kinds of methods once all of the other methods have demonstrated that they will not be very effective. As long as we are making progress, we will mostly stick to the normal approaches. Also it will depend on the risk associated with the approach. Less risky things we will likely try first.

Hello Ashley,

This sounds encouraging, as if you are hinting of good news. Are we making any progress in freeing Spirit?

[donroos]

I was hoping you'd reply something like that. Thanks for taking the question and for the work you and all your colleagues are doing. Best of luck!

[Astrochimp]

Ashley,

Since unconventional methods are on the back burner for now, what conventional methods are first on the list? There has been some mention of "crab walking" Spirit out of its current location.

I am also interested in the Pointed Rock (suggested name ""mt everest") that is under Spirits belly. Has it been determined if tht rock is in contact with Spirit or not?

[AshleyStroupe]

We are still finishing up our ground testing and haven't yet started driving on Mars. That is probably at least a few weeks away.

[normancopeland]

Yes you can ask questions now.

Hello ashley,

Ok, If the robotic arm is used during the closest period that the robot has power to winter, the difference of the centre of gravity for the robot to weight ratio [because of temperature] might be enough to move the robot from the position it's stuck in that might aswell of changed it's manouverable dexterity potential, when will the power on the robot shut off? And potentially what sort of dust storm velosities offer chances?