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ESA's Mars Rover Prototype, 'Bridget,' Takes Test Drive in Chile Desert

Mars Rover Prototype Goes For Spin In Remote Desert Region
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A disruptive dust devil did not stop a European Mars rover prototype from finishing its work in the Chilean desert recently, though the wind storm did force researchers to take shelter as it carried away a chair from the nearby remote control center.

"Luckily [due] to the well-built camp and layout taking strong winds into account (using cars as windbreak), the emergency recovery plan and risk assessments no one was injured. We have even found the missing chair," European Space Agency (ESA) officials wrote in an Oct. 7 blog post about the Mars rover test drive incident.

The Atacama Desert weather event demonstrates just one of the hazards the Europe's ExoMars rover will face when it arrives on the Red Planet late in this decade to search for signs of past or present life. The prototype, dubbed Bridget by its control team, spent several days working in Chile as part of the Sample Field Acquisition Experiment with a Rover (SAFER) trial between Oct. 7 and 13. [The Search for Life on Mars (A Photo Timeline)]

For ESA, the field trial represented a vital opportunity to test Mars roving in the field. While NASA is used to steering Red Planet rovers — the agency has piloted four on Mars, with the 1-ton Curiosity rover being the most recent — ExoMars will be the first European one. It is expected to launch in 2018.

Sweeping the desert

ESA worked to make the mission as realistic as possible, although there were a few adjustments required. For example, controllers marked where Bridget stopped at the end of every work day, then pulled the rover off the site overnight until the next morning, when it would navigate back.

Since Bridget's return left tracks in the sand, researchers would go out and sweep the desert of any traces of the rover's path. This was necessary because the remote control center (RCC) was practicing navigating by landmarks. The rover tracks would provide an extra location clue that would not be available on Mars.

Before Bridget started work in the field, a drone was used to take an aerial shot, simulating a picture taken from orbit. This allowed scientists to narrow down the site where they wanted the rover to do its work.

Then the rover got down to business. Controllers treated each Earth field day as two Martian days, or "sols," although a sol is slightly longer than an Earth day.

Trial over, but work continues

Bridget also encountered physical obstacles during the field test. One day, a flat rock was unexpectedly turned up after Bridget's front wheel disturbed its spot in the sand. ESA cheerfully called the situation "useful food for thought for rover designers and operators" who would need to figure out how to get around such a rock on Mars.


Researchers working under shelter during the SAFER trial in Chile's Atacama Desert in October 2013.

Bridget carried three instruments on board, including a panoramic camera to take stereo 3D pictures, radar to probe underground and a close-up imager to look at the samples it picked up. Since the rover did not carry a drill, it would occasionally require a time-out for humans to do that work; this would of course not be possible when the ExoMars rover is on the Red Planet, ESA officials said.

One major goal of the mission was to use Bridget's tools to find a sample site, ideally one with "outcrops of bedrock beside looser material," ESA said in a release posted before the mission started.

Results from the trial are still being analyzed, but the SAFER blog noted the work itself "has been a fantastic learning experience for all involved." Of note, the rover did track down a layer starting at 2 feet (60 cm) of depth at its second drilling location, a find considered to be close to what would be available on Mars.

"The work is far from over, the study team will continue analyzing data and publishing results, but for now the field trial part of the trial is over," the team added in a blog post on Oct. 15. "Both the Atacama team and RCC celebrates the end of the successful trials."

Follow Elizabeth Howell @howellspace, or SPACE.com @Spacedotcom. We're also on Facebook and Google+. Original article on SPACE.com.

Copyright 2013 SPACE.com, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. ]]>

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Curiosity: Mars Science Laboratory's Rover
Curiosity at Work on Mars (01 of17)
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This artist's concept depicts the rover Curiosity, of NASA's Mars Science Laboratory mission, as it uses its Chemistry and Camera (ChemCam) instrument to investigate the composition of a rock surface. ChemCam fires laser pulses at a target and views the resulting spark with a telescope and spectrometers to identify chemical elements. The laser is actually in an invisible infrared wavelength, but is shown here as visible red light for purposes of illustration. (credit:NASA/JPL-Caltech)
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This computer-generated view depicts part of Mars at the boundary between darkness and daylight, with an area including Gale Crater beginning to catch morning light. (credit:NASA/JPL-Caltech)
Curiosity Launch Vehicle(03 of17)
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The Atlas V 541 vehicle was selected for the Mars Science Laboratory mission because it has the right liftoff capability for the heavy weight requirements of the rover and its spacecraft. (credit:NASA/JPL-Caltech)
Mars Science Laboratory Spacecraft During Cruise(04 of17)
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This is an artist's concept of NASA's Mars Science Laboratory spacecraft during its cruise phase between launch and final approach to Mars. The spacecraft includes a disc-shaped cruise stage (on the left) attached to the aeroshell. The spacecraft's rover (Curiosity) and descent stage are tucked inside the aeroshell. (credit:NASA/JPL-Caltech)
Curiosity Approaching Mars(05 of17)
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The Curiosity rover is safely tucked inside the spacecraft's aeroshell. The mission's approach phase begins 45 minutes before the spacecraft enters the Martian atmosphere. It lasts until the spacecraft enters the atmosphere. (credit:NASA/JPL-Caltech)
Curiosity Inside Aeroshell(06 of17)
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The Curiosity rover and the spacecraft's descent stage are safely tucked inside the aeroshell at this point. The aeroshell includes a heat shield (on the right, facing in the direction of travel through the atmosphere) and backshell. The diameter of the aeroshell is 14.8 feet (4.5 meters), the largest ever used for a mission to Mars. (credit:NASA/JPL-Caltech)
Mars Science Laboratory Guided Entry At Mars(07 of17)
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The mission's entry, descent, and landing (EDL) phase begins when the spacecraft reaches the top of Martian atmosphere, about 81 miles (131 kilometers) above the surface of the Gale crater landing area, and ends with the rover safe and sound on the surface of Mars. During the approximately seven minutes of EDL, the spacecraft decelerates from a velocity of about 13,200 miles per hour (5,900 meters per second) at the top of the atmosphere, to stationary on the surface. (credit:NASA/JPL-Caltech)
Deceleration of Mars Science Laboratory in Martian Atmosphere(08 of17)
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This artist's concept depicts the interaction of NASA's Mars Science Laboratory spacecraft with the upper atmosphere of Mars during the entry, descent and landing of the Curiosity rover onto the Martian surface. (credit:NASA/JPL-Caltech)
Mars Science Laboratory Parachute(09 of17)
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This is an artist's concept of the Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity rover parachute system. (credit:NASA/JPL-Caltech)
Curiosity While On Parachute(10 of17)
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This is an artist's concept of NASA's Curiosity rover tucked inside the Mars Science Laboratory spacecraft's backshell while the spacecraft is descending on a parachute toward Mars. The parachute is attached to the top of the backshell. In the scene depicted here, the spacecraft's heat shield has already been jettisoned. (credit:NASA/JPL-Caltech)
Curiosity And Descent Stage (11 of17)
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This is an artist's concept of the rover and descent stage for NASA's Mars Science Laboratory spacecraft during the final minute before the rover, Curiosity, touches down on the surface of Mars. (credit:NASA/JPL-Caltech)
Curiosity's Sky Crane Maneuver(12 of17)
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The entry, descent, and landing (EDL) phase of the Mars Science Laboratory mission begins when the spacecraft reaches the Martian atmosphere, about 81 miles (131 kilometers) above the surface of the Gale crater landing area, and ends with the rover Curiosity safe and sound on the surface of Mars. (credit:NASA/JPL-Caltech)
Curiosity Touching Down(13 of17)
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This artist's concept depicts the moment that NASA's Curiosity rover touches down onto the Martian surface. (credit:NASA/JPL-Caltech)
A Moment After Curiosity's Touchdown(14 of17)
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This artist's concept depicts the moment immediately after NASA's Curiosity rover touches down onto the Martian surface. (credit:NASA/JPL-Caltech)
Curiosity Mars Rover(15 of17)
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This artist concept features NASA's Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity rover, a mobile robot for investigating Mars' past or present ability to sustain microbial life. (credit:NASA/JPL-Caltech)
Curiosity's Close-Up(16 of17)
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Mars Rover Curiosity(17 of17)
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This artist concept features NASA's Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity rover, a mobile robot for investigating Mars' past or present ability to sustain microbial life. (credit:NASA/JPL-Caltech)
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