Automatic detection of dust devils and clouds on Mars

Authors:
Andres Castano;Alex Fukunaga;Jeffrey Biesiadecki;Lynn Neakrase;Patrick Whelley;Ronald Greeley;Mark Lemmon;Rebecca Castano;Steve Chien
Affiliations:
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, MS 125-209, 4800 Oak Grove Dr., 91109, Pasadena, CA, USA;Jet Propulsion Laboratory, MS 125-209, 4800 Oak Grove Dr., 91109, Pasadena, CA, USA;Jet Propulsion Laboratory, MS 125-209, 4800 Oak Grove Dr., 91109, Pasadena, CA, USA;Arizona State University, Department of Geological Sciences, P.O. Box 871404, MS 125-209, 4800 Oak Grove Dr., 85287, Tempe, AZ, USA;Arizona State University, Department of Geological Sciences, P.O. Box 871404, MS 125-209, 4800 Oak Grove Dr., 85287, Tempe, AZ, USA;Arizona State University, Department of Geological Sciences, P.O. Box 871404, MS 125-209, 4800 Oak Grove Dr., 85287, Tempe, AZ, USA;Texas A&M University, Department of Atmospheric Sciences, P.O. Box 871404, 3150 TAMU, 77843, College Station, TX, USA;Jet Propulsion Laboratory, MS 125-209, 4800 Oak Grove Dr., 91109, Pasadena, CA, USA;Jet Propulsion Laboratory, MS 125-209, 4800 Oak Grove Dr., 91109, Pasadena, CA, USA
Venue:
Machine Vision and Applications
Year:
2008

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Abstract

The acquisition of science data in space applications is shifting from teleoperated data collection to an automated onboard analysis, resulting in improved data quality, as well as improved usage of limited resources such as onboard memory, CPU, and communications bandwidth. Science instruments onboard a modern deep-space spacecraft can acquire much more data that can be downloaded to Earth, given the limited communication bandwidth. Onboard data analysis offers a means of compressing the huge amounts of data collected and downloading only the most valuable subset of the collected data. In this paper, we describe algorithms for detecting dust devils and clouds onboard Mars rovers, and summarize the results. These algorithms achieve the accuracy required by planetary scientists, as well as the runtime, CPU, memory, and bandwidth constraints set by the engineering mission parameters. The detectors have been uploaded to the Mars Exploration Rovers, and currently are operational. These detectors are the first onboard science analysis processes on Mars.