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Mission Control

It is well known that the ability to communicate effectively with superiors, colleagues, and staff is essential, no matter what industry you work in. All members of the mission gain experience in interpersonal communication and leadership by working in teams under challenging conditions. Effective teamwork and communication skills are critical for the success of space missions, where teams can be comprised of people from diverse backgrounds. Within a real-time mission, such as CanMoon, mission control is a dynamic room of operations that requires a high level of organization in order to succeed.

The mission is primarily divided into three main teams: the field team, the planning team, and the science team. The science team is further divided into a processing and interpretation team, allowing for data analysis to occur while operations are ongoing. Each instrument on the rover has a lead that is in charge of processing and sequence commands for the said instrument. The planning team is directly in control of the rover and takes the commands from the science team and inputs them into the rover. The field team is the rover in Lanzarote, Spain and will be taking the measurement and commands issued from mission control at Western University. A full breakdown of the mission control organization can be found below.

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Past Missions

Over the past decade, CPSX has become a hub of analogue mission deployments within Canada and the United States. Most recently in 2015 and 2016, CPSX led two Mars sample return mission in Utah, USA where the CSA's rover, MESR, was commanded directly from Western University's mission control to identify a limited number of samples to return to "Earth". CPSX prizes itself on training the next generation of planetary explorers.

Beyond becoming an intensive training experience, these analogue missions provide an opportunity to learn important lessons for real planetary science mission operations. They also provide a unique tool for exploring geologically interesting sites of interested and understanding their geologic past. Below we have highlighted several of the scientific journals and publications that have come out of these missions.

• The CanMars Mars Sample Return analogue mission

• CanMars mission Science Team operational results: Implications for operations and the sample selection process for Mars Sample Return (MSR)

• Utility and applications of rover science autonomy capabilities: Outcomes from a high-fidelity analogue mission simulation

• Field and laboratory validation of remote rover operations Science Team findings: The CanMars Mars Sample Return analogue mission

• The use of GIS, mapping, and immersive technologies in the CanMars Mars Sample Return analogue mission; advantages for science interpretation and operational decision-making

• TEMMI, a Three-dimensional Exploration Multispectral Microscope Imager for planetary exploration missions

• Geological evaluation of the MSRAD field site by a human field party: Implications for rover-based exploration operations and for the future human exploration of Mars

• An orbit-based remote sensing geological assessment of the CanMars Mars Sample Return Analogue Deployment (MSRAD) landing site situated in the Henry Mountains Basin, near Hanksville, Utah

• Documentation processes during the CanMars mission: Observations and recommendations for future application in analogue and planetary missions