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Analyzing Science Operations for the Search for Life as part of a Multi-Year Robotic Campaign to Exp
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| In the austral spring (September-October) of both 2004 and 2005, a multi-institutional, multi-national effort led by Carnegie Mellon University will conduct long-duration robotic explorations of the Atacama Desert in Chile to develop technologies and methods for upcoming NASA missions that will search for evidence of past life on Mars. The project proposed herein will leverage this large-scale effort to measure and improve the effectiveness of robotic science operations. This research will extend current analysis of rover-mediated geology to rover-mediated habitat characterization. The work will continue to emphasize the effects of different data collection and display techniques on the science teamís conclusions. The principal hypothesis this research is that the quality and reliability of scientific conclusions regarding past or present life in arid environments is dependent on the type of evidence collected by the rover, the scientistsí data analysis techniques, the processes used by the scientistsí to form and share hypotheses and conclusions, and the science operations software. The principal objectives of this research, each specifically associated with AISR program objectives, are to: 1) reduce mission development time by analyzing how scientists characterize a habitat, 2) reduce mission development risk by identifying mission-critical and problematic analysis tasks, 3) increase science return from the data by analyzing long-traverse science collection strategies, and 4) increase data return by refining the science interface to improve analysis effectiveness. The proposed research will analyze the processes used by astrobiologists and geologists when searching for signs of life in a Mars-like environment. Our previous and ongoing work with robotic geology has successfully characterized limitations in scientific interpretations caused by rover sensors, differences in scientists' interpretations, and limitations of the science interface. These limitations were identified and studied using perceptual experiments in which scientists analyzed sample images and physical specimens. In addition, transcripts of scientists participating in a simulated rover field experiments have been examined to further understand these limitations. The proposed project will quantify analyst and instrument limitations that could affect the success of future missions in the search for life on Mars and will develop mitigating strategies to avoid inappropriate conclusions regarding the presence of life on Mars. |
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