Rover decided which soil samples without a direct order from Earth.
NASA has given a rover Perseverance the ability to independently choose targets for the collection of samples, which should accelerate the development of science on Mars. Without direct guidance from Earth, the rover “fired” at two targets with its SuperCam tool, according to Space.com. Vince, chief researcher of SuperCam.
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If Perseverance chooses targets, he can shoot at them the same of the day. In this case, the team will be able to immediately obtain data on unusual compositions and decide on further research before the rover begins to move on.
Perseverance software for self-selection is called Autonomous Exploration for Gathering Enhanced Science (AEGIS) .
“AEGIS queries the Navcam image and then analyzes it to find stones and prioritize analysis based on size, brightness and other characteristics. It initiates the sequence in which SuperCam launches its laser to determine the chemical composition of one or two priority targets selected from Navcam images, ”said Vince.
AEGIS testing began in March. In May, the rover took pictures showing the places where he used the laser. The tests were successful, so the team plans to use AEGIS “to get faster data on the composition of rocks around the rover's path.”
Earlier, the Martian helicopter Ingenuity recovered from a recent communication failure Earth image of a ridge on the Red Planet .
