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ADE (Autonomous DEcision making in Very Long Traverses) is an ongoing H2020 project aiming to develop key technologies for future space robotics missions. The focus of the project is to develop an exhaustive autonomous system for planetary rover exploration that can traverse at least 1km/sol, perform and maximize the scientific data collection, take appropriate decisions in nominal and contingency situations and ensure its safety at any moment. In this paper we describe the system developed and its capabilities, along with the validation approach and testing facilities.

The European space sciences landscape is very diverse as it involves two major intergovernmental organisations (The European Space Agency-ESA- and the European Commission-EC) and more than 25 countries that each have their national institutional setting and scientific planning approach. It has therefore always been essential to coordinate space science and exploration programmes throughout Europe and with international partners. The European Space Sciences Committee (ESSC - www.essc.esf.org) is offering European scientists an independent voice providing advice and guidance on space science matters to ESA, EC, national space agencies, and other stakeholders. The ESSC is not a programmatic nor a political entity; it promotes space science not as a cost but as a high-return investment with a broad and exciting leverage effect on the people and the economy. Similarly to other international advisory bodies, ESSC offers recommendations and implements other space exploration related activities; it delivers direct consolidated (solicited or proactive) input from the scientific community to programmatic institutions; but is can also represent an anchor for non-European scientific communities to interact and collaborate. The ESSC has thus kept and developed very strong links with the Space Studies Board of the US National Academies (NAS-SSB), members from both sides of the Atlantic thus affording regular insight on European and US space programmes. These two bodies are also linked in some strategic planning issues and in studies related to Planetary Protection (e.g. on PhobosDeimos categorisation), Mars (Mars Special Regions), space weather or the icy moons of the giant planets. The ESSC has also tight contacts with Chinese, Russian and Japanese space agencies and research organisations. This international bottom-up approach in space roadmapping has proven to be highly valuable in the past, a relevant example being the Cassini-Huygens mission. In the early eighties, the concept of a joint U.S.-European mission to explore the Saturnian system was delineated duringa joint European Science Foundation-US National Academies workshop, this was the spark of one of the most successful long-lived (2004-2017) planetary exploration missions to date. A coordinated integrated position on programmatic space matters is key to maximise scientific return. Since the late nineties, the ESSC and its office have conducted studies and evaluations on the ESA Life and Physical Sciences in Space programme (ELIPS) as well as defining a Science-Driven Scenario for Space Exploration or roadmaps in the fields of human space exploration or astrobiology. ESSC has also been very active in providing inputs to the European Commission on the definition of its space strategy and space research work programme. The ESSC contacts with international bodies significantly contribute to the definition and implementation of exploration programmes in their respective countries and demonstrate that common initiatives allow us to promote the inputs from the scientific communities. A network of independent non-programmatic interdisciplinary bodies covering all the regions of the world would certainly improve coordination of space exploration at the global level. References: all of the documents related to the aforementioned studies can be found at: http://www.essc.esf.org/list-of-publications/

The authors acknowledge support from the UK Space Agency (lead funding agency for PanCam) and STFC, DLR agency, Swiss Space Office (via PRODEX), Austrian agency. The scientific objectives of the ExoMars rover are designed to answer several key questions in the search for life on Mars. In particular, the unique subsurface drill will address some of these, such as the possible existence and stability of subsurface organics. PanCam will establish the surface geological and morphological context for the mission, working in collaboration with other context instruments. Here, we describe the PanCam scientific objectives in geology, atmospheric science, and 3-D vision. We discuss the design of PanCam, which includes a stereo pair of Wide Angle Cameras (WACs), each of which has an 11-position filter wheel and a High Resolution Camera (HRC) for high-resolution investigations of rock texture at a distance. The cameras and electronics are housed in an optical bench that provides the mechanical interface to the rover mast and a planetary protection barrier. The electronic interface is via the PanCam Interface Unit (PIU), and power conditioning is via a DC-DC converter. PanCam also includes a calibration target mounted on the rover deck for radiometric calibration, fiducial markers for geometric calibration, and a rover inspection mirror. Publisher PDF

The scientific objectives of the ExoMars rover are designed to answer several key questions in the search for life on Mars. In particular, the unique subsurface drill will address some of these, such as the possible existence and stability of subsurface organics. PanCam will establish the surface geological and morphological context for the mission, working in collaboration with other context instruments. Here, we describe the PanCam scientific objectives in geology, atmospheric science, and 3-D vision. We discuss the design of PanCam, which includes a stereo pair of Wide Angle Cameras (WACs), each of which has an 11-position filter wheel and a High Resolution Camera (HRC) for high-resolution investigations of rock texture at a distance. The cameras and electronics are housed in an optical bench that provides the mechanical interface to the rover mast and a planetary protection barrier. The electronic interface is via the PanCam Interface Unit (PIU), and power conditioning is via a DC-DC converter. PanCam also includes a calibration target mounted on the rover deck for radiometric calibration, fiducial markers for geometric calibration, and a rover inspection mirror. Key Words: Mars—ExoMars—Instrumentation—Geology—Atmosphere—Exobiology—Context. Astrobiology 17, 511–541.

The CUC (Close-Up Camera) is part of the selected scientific payload for the MarcoPolo-R mission. It is a powerful, miniaturized, low-power, efficient and highly adaptive system of 820 g, composed of three main parts: a flexible structure focus mechanism allows the acquisition of sharp images of any target from 10 cm to infinity; a colour Active Pixel Sensor with 2652 x 1768 x 3 pixels provides RGB colours keeping the spatial resolution; a high-performance integrated electronics system allows a good flexibility for the operations of the CUC. The CUC is designed to characterize at high resolution and in colour the sampling area and provide the geological context of the sample prior to the sampling operations, which is crucial for the subsequent analysis of the sample back to Earth. The aim is to determine physical key properties of the target’s surface, such as grain size distribution, textural, mineralogical, structural, and morphological details in geologic materials, influence of space weathering processes. Thanks to its varying focal length, CUC images can also be acquired before and after the sampling operation