GMV has chosen Dehesa de Navalvillar to the north of Madrid in Colmenar Viejo as the site for the field tests under the European Space Agency (ESA)’s GOTCHA project (GOAC TRL Increase Convenience Enhancements Hardening and Application Extension).

The GMV-primed GOTCHA project, also involving the participation of the Madrid university Universidad Carlos III, aims to achieve an autonomous framework for planetary-exploration rovers, increasing their Technology Readiness Level (TRL) for use in future space systems such as the upcoming Mars Sample Return mission.

One of the biggest challenges to be met in terms of improving planetary exploration, Mars in this case, and achieving rock- and soil-sample-return capabilities, is the development and demonstration of the technologies and capacities needed by any rover for making long runs and making autonomous and independent decisions (without communicating back with Earth) on its progress, risk reduction and harnessing all science-information compilation opportunities that turn up.

With this aim in view the field tests being carried out at the moment in Colmenar Vejo are focusing on the testing and vetting of key Mars-exploration technologies that work in a totally autonomous and independent way (on long runs without having to communicate with Earth). For this purpose an autonomous system has been fitted on the ESA’s RAT prototype rover. 

In order to boost the autonomy level GMV has added several robot software elements to the GOTCHA project: a robotic controller, path-planner and trajectory control, plus an onboard mission planner that controls the actions of the rover platform in order to achieve high-level goals (e.g., gather science on a given area).

Results to date have been successfully presented in the ESA’s 2nd International Mars Sample Return Conference, held from 25 to 27 April in Germany. The purpose of this conference was to establish a better understanding of the options for carrying out a mission of this type to the red planet, and also to share the plans drawn up by both agencies and showcase the technological maturity, autonomy and scientific capability of projects developed by private industry.