Questions tagged [autonomy]
The autonomy tag has no usage guidance.
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How does JUICE navigate autonomously
Introduction
To kick things off, I'd like to introduce myself as a 23-year-old novice learner when it comes to space exploration but I've been listening to astronomy-specific podcasts since 2022 and I'...
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Question: Does JWST have hardware that could be used as a docking fixture by repair spacecraft?
Context: JWST is considered un-repairable in its current L2 location for a number of reasons:
Diagnosis is difficult since JWSR has no “selfie” capability. This makes planning for any repair mission (...
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Is there a way (working or in development) to track satellites in lunar orbit like we track objects in Earth Orbit?
I understand that Earth orbiting satellites are tracked using technologies such as radar, but due to the distance between the Earth and the Moon, they aren't really useful for Moon sats.
Is the ...
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How much space could be freed up on New Horizons "once the spacecraft's flyby software is no longer needed"?
A comment below New Horizons current mission links to the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory page 2019 Onward which includes the following:
It is possible that another flyby target ...
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"New Horizons' capabilities augmented by uploading new observing and onboard data-reduction software." How? What augmentations are begin considered?
A comment below New Horizons current mission links to the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory page 2019 Onward which includes the following:
It is possible that another flyby target ...
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At the end of the test campaign, could Ingenuity be programmed to fly fully autonomously to the planned sample cache depot location?
From an interview with Tim Canham, Mars Helicopter Operations Lead at JPL in the article How NASA Designed a Helicopter That Could Fly Autonomously on Mars:
It has a sequencing engine on board, and ...
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How well could the New Horizons spacecraft localize itself in space in 3D using parallax?
NASA’s New Horizons Conducts the First Interstellar Parallax Experiment was exciting news, the spacecraft's computer, communication and camera all continue to work in the Kuiper belt due to rigorous ...
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How many cubesat U's is CAPSTONE really?
Wikipedia's CAPSTONE(spacecraft); Spacecraft says:
The orbiter is a 12-unit CubeSat
but looking at the images in the new NASA video NASA 2021: Let's Go to the Moon I see artwork that shows Capstone ...
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Why does NASA now call its rovers "robotic scientists?"
NASA's 2020 July 13 press release about the Mars 2020 mission calls its rover Perseverance a "robotic scientist." Is this press release, or at least this mission, the first usage of this ...
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How exactly do the AstroBees implement propulsion and attitude control?
The (currently unanswered) question How does JAXA's “Int-Ball” manage airflow to optimally navigate inside the ISS? shows a complicated set of twelve ducted airflows for that JAXA aerobotic system ...
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Why did NASA need to attach smartphones to the SPHERES robots in order to link them to the ground?
This May 2016 NASA Johnson video Space Station Live: Getting the Buzz on Astrobee is described as:
NASA Commentator Lori Meggs at the Marshall Space Flight Center talks to NASA Ames Research Center’...
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Martian Carbon Dioxide Turbine Oxygen Generator
How much solid Carbon Dioxide can be collected in a container with the top of the container level with the ground during a Martian Winter?
Side Question: What do you call a generator that runs on the ...
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Has "Auto-Destruct" shown any impact on launch tempo yet?
The excellent answer to the question Why would autonomous auto-destruct ramp up launch tempo? explains how it significantly reduces the extent of certain activities and responsibilities. In short:
...
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Range safety - is the goal both autonomy and standardization - and would it include the "black box" in the rocket?
This and this answer have addressed various issues related to the new Autonomous Flight Safety System, and the second answer addresses one potential benefit being a reduction in turn-around time for ...
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Why would autonomous auto-destruct ramp up launch tempo/cadence?
This thorough answer by @Hobbes links to the item Auto-destruct system seen as a key to ramping up launch tempos.
I'd like to understand Why would autonomous auto-destruct ramp up launch tempo?
I have ...
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Will a computer be allowed to "self-destruct" astronauts (or passengers)?
In the video clip of this interview, captioned:
General Wayne Monteith, 45th Space Wing Commander, talks about the Autonomous Flight Safety System, or AFSS -- a new, automated way of having a ...
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Lunar Descent and Landing Simulation
I am trying to simulate lunar descent and landing as a part of my undergraduate project. For time being, I have included gravity turn guidance scheme and used these equations
Now, I can solve ...
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What naturally occurring navigational information is available for an autonomous return of SLS's EM-1?
This answer details some of the requirements that would need to be met if the Space Launch System's planned Exploration Mission 1 were to be human rated.
I've further trimmed that truncated selection ...
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Which robotic spacecraft have autonomous operation capabilities?
I am searching for an overview of autonomous space robots integrating motion planning capabilities, such as a list of robots (past and present).
So far, I have found these robots:
Mars exploration ...
user17898
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What are the future prospects for spacecraft autonomy
edit: Possibly helpful information in Gizmodo and YouTube.
In general spacecraft are supplied with propulsion systems often with substantial redundancy in the plumbing and engines or thrusters so ...
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How much can the Mars rover Curiosity do autonomously, after four years of operation?
I was under the impression (when asking this question) that over the past four years that experience by ground operators and programmers had lead to a configuration where the Mars rover Curiosity ...
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If Curiosity had lights, could it drive or work in the evening?
If the Mars rover Curiosity had been equipped with lights, would it be able to drive or do other work in the evening? This could be some combination of LED headlights, wheel-lights, and/or a spotlight ...
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