Soon, the Curiosity Rover Will Rule Mars With Its Automatic Lasers
Don’t ever say you can’t teach an old rover new tricks.
The Mars rover Curiosity, operated out of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, received a software upgrade — similar to the ones you get on your cell phone — that enables the rover to target and then perform science on rocks autonomously.
It’s one step closer to making NASA’s robotic explorers less human dependent, according to Tara Estlin, the robotics engineer who heads Autonomous Exploration for Gathering Increased Science, or AEGIS, development at JPL.
“If we ever get into a situation where we can’t easily talk to the rovers every day, that capability will be very desirable,” Estlin said. “I think this could help things be more efficient and faster as well.”
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