Distributed Instruments for Planetary Surface Science: Scientific Opportunities and Technology Feasibility

Abstract

In this paper, we assess the scientific promise and technology feasibility of distributed instruments for planetary science. A distributed instrument is an instrument designed to collect spatially and temporally correlated data from multiple networked, geographically distributed point sensors. Distributed instruments are ubiquitous in Earth science, where they are routinely employed for weather and climate science, seismic studies and resource prospecting, and detection of industrial emissions. However, to date, their adoption in planetary surface science has been minimal. It is natural to ask whether this lack of adoption is driven by low potential to address high-priority questions in planetary science; immature technology; or both. To address this question, we survey high-priority planetary science questions that are uniquely well-suited to distributed instruments. We identify four areas of research where distributed instruments hold promise to unlock answers that are largely inaccessible to monolithic sensors, namely, weather and climate studies of Mars; localization of seismic events on rocky and icy bodies; localization of trace gas emissions, primarily on Mars; and magnetometry studies of internal composition. Next, we survey enabling technologies for distributed sensors and assess their maturity. We identify sensor placement (including descent and landing on planetary surfaces), power, and instrument autonomy as three key areas requiring further investment to enable future distributed instruments. Overall, this work shows that distributed instruments hold great promise for planetary science, and paves the way for follow-on studies of future distributed instruments for Solar System in-situ science.

Figures (14)

• Figure 1: Artist's representation of a notional distributed instrument to study the Martian global climate. A network of sixteen sensing units is distributed across the Martian surface to provide coverage of the entire planet. Each sensing unit contains a weather station, a dust instrument, a camera to observe atmospheric opacity and cloud formation, and a spectrometer. Sensor readings are relayed to Earth by an existing orbiter. The distributed instrument allows scientists to study the spatial and temporal correlation of weather and climate patterns (in particular the water, dust, and CO$_2$ cycles) on the planet.
• Figure 2: Illustration of the MESUR project's geophysical observation stations (© NASA).
• Figure 3: NASA JPL's SensorWeb distributed instrument concept
• Figure 4: Volcano SensorWeb architecture illustrating how retasking happens upon triggering based on event detection Chien2005.
• Figure 5: Proposed design reference missions for exploration of Venus (left) and Mars (right) NASAAutonomyDRM2018lyness2019marsdrm.