The ongoing search for life on Mars could be sped up through the use of semi-autonomous robotic explorers that can carry out investigations of the surface, researchers say.
Communication delays between Earth and Mars rovers can range between four and 22 minutes and impose data transfer constraints because of uplink and downlink limitations. These limitations force scientists to plan operations well in advance.
Rovers are designed for energy efficiency and safety, and to move slowly across hazardous terrain. As a result, exploration is typically limited to only a small portion of the landing site, with rovers traveling up to a few hundred metres a day, making it difficult to collect geologically diverse data.
A team at the University of Basel in Switzerland have been testing a semi-autonomous robotic explorer that can investigate multiple targets one-by-one and collect data without constant human intervention. Their results suggest the approach could significantly speed up resource prospecting...