Instrument Host Overview  ========================    During the MSL mission, data are collected by instruments on the rover    and those data are relayed directly to stations of the NASA Deep Space    Network (DSN) on Earth or indirectly to the DSN using the orbital relay    capability of Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) or 2001 Mars Odyssey    (ODY). The following sections provide an overview of the MSL    spacecraft, DSN ground system, and MRO and ODY orbiters.  Instrument Host Overview - Rover  ================================    The Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) mission landed a mobile science    laboratory on Mars to assess the biological potential of the landing    site, characterize the geology of the landing region, investigate    planetary processes that influence habitability, and characterize    the broad spectrum of radiation.  For more detailed information    about the MSL spacecraft, see [GROTZINGER2009, GROTZINGERETAL2012].    Spacecraft Configuration for Cruise and Approach    ------------------------------------------------      Following launch of the MSL flight system, the cruise stage      separated from the launch vehicle and headed to Mars.  On its way,      the spin-stabilized spacecraft performed 4 trajectory correction      maneuvers (TCMs) and underwent a series of checkout and maintenance      activities.  A health checkout of each of the science instruments      plus the engineering cameras was carried out from March 12 to 22,      2012, beginning 108 days after launch.  The one exception to this is      RAD, which was checked out and began routine science observations on      December 6, 10 days after launch.  Additional late cruise checkouts      were performed on Mastcan, MARDI, MAHLI and the engineering cameras      on April 20, 2012; Mastcam, MARDI and MAHLI plus the engineering      cameras and REMS were checked again on June 14, 2012; the SAM      instrument was checked on June 28, 2012.    Spacecraft Configuration for Entry, Descent, and Landing    --------------------------------------------------------      After separation from the cruise stage, the 2559 kg entry vehicle,      consisting of the backshell and heat shield enclosing the descent      stage and rover, performed a series of guided maneuvers. Cruise      balance masses separated to adjust the center of mass of the entry      vehicle.  At 3522.2 km from the center of Mars, the vehicle entered      the atmosphere.  This was followed by peak heating, peak      deceleration, supersonic parachute deploy, and heat shield      separation.  At the appropriate time, the descent stage engines      started, the backshell and parachute separated, and the MARs Descent      Imager (MARDI) started recording video.  As the descent stage      approached the surface using powered descent, at an altitude of      about 18.6 m, the rover was lowered on a descent rate limiter and      bridle umbilical device to 7.5 m below the descent stage, and its      wheels were deployed into the touchdown configuration. The descent      stage continued descending until the rover touched down on the      surface of Mars. The rover landed in Gale Crater at 15:03 Local Mean      Solar Time on Mars (August 6, 2012, 05:18 UTC Spacecraft Event      Time).  Upon successful touchdown, the descent rate limiter and      bridle umbilical device were cut. The descent stage flew away and      impacted the surface 650 meters away from the rover.    Rover on the Surface of Mars    ----------------------------      After landing, the instrument host is the rover.  Overall      characteristics of the rover include a total mass of ~900 kg, 2.8      m width, 3 m length (4.7 m long with robotic arm extended), 1.1 m      top deck height, 2.2 m total height, and 84 kg instrument payload.      The rover is a vehicle for remote operation on the Martian surface      with the following capabilities: (1) supports the science      instrument payload investigations, (2) can traverse up to 100 to      200 meters per sol, depending on the terrain, (3) provides high-      speed computational capability and substantial data storage, and      (4) provides X-band for Direct-to- Earth (DTE) and Direct-from-      Earth (DFE) telecommunications, and the ability to communicate via      UHF with Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and Mars Odyssey (which will      store and relay data to the Earth).      The rover is a scaled version of the 6-wheel drive, 4-wheel      steering system from the Mars Exploration Rover (MER).  Based on      the center of mass, the vehicle is required to withstand a static      tilt of at least 50 deg in any direction without overturning.  Fault      protection will limit the rover from exceeding 30 deg tilts while      driving.  The design of the rocker-bogie allows the wheels to move      over objects approximately as large as the wheel diameter (0.5 m).      Clearance under the rover's body on flat ground is 66 cm.  Each      wheel has cleats and is independently actuated and geared,      providing for climbing in soft sand and scrambling over rocks.      Each front and rear wheel can be independently steered, allowing      the vehicle to turn in place as well as execute arcing turns.  The      rover has a top speed on flat hard ground of ~4 cm/s but under      autonomous control with hazard avoidance, the vehicle achieves an      average speed of ~1.5 cm/s.      Rover power is provided by the Multi-Mission Radioisotope      Thermoelectric Generator (MMRTG), which generates ~110 W of      electrical power at the start of the landed mission.  Peak power      demand from the rover activities easily exceeds this however, and      the rover has two Li-Ion rechargeable ~42 amp-hour batteries to      allow for all activities.  The batteries go through multiple      charge/discharge cycles per Sol, with maximum allowed depth of      discharge of ~53%.      The surface telecommunications system uses three antennas, two for      X-Band DTE/DFE (Direct to/from Earth), and a UHF antenna for relay      to an orbiting asset.  The X-band antennas are the Rover Low Gain      Antenna (RLGA) and the High Gain Antenna (HGA).  The HGA is used for      either direct-to-Earth (DTE) or direct-from-Earth (DFE), while the      RLGA is used primarily for DFE.  The basic telecom requirement for      surface operations on the HGA is to transmit at least at 160 bits      per second to a 34-meter Deep Space Network (DSN) antenna, or 800      bits per second to a 70-meter DSN antenna.  In safe mode, commands      from the Earth are received via the LGA, which does not require      pointing.  Limited capability for communications exists via the LGA      (15 bits per second uplink at max range). Typical daily uplink of      commands is done via the HGA, taking approximately 15 minutes for a      total volume of 225 kilobits.  The HGA sits on a 2 degree-of-freedom      gimbal, with 5 degree system pointing accuracy (including rover      attitude knowledge), and is 0.28 meters in diameter.      The primary data return path for surface operations is via the UHF      relay system, using the Mars orbiting assets, Mars Odyssey and Mars      Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO).  The project intends for primary      communications to go through MRO, with two passes a day primarily      used to return data from the surface.  Typically, it is expected      that science decisions will be supported by returning a minimum of      50 to 100 megabits of low-latency decision-supporting data for the      tactical process, and up to 800 total megabits of data per sol.  The      mission is designed to work with a minimum of 250 megabits per sol      using two UHF passes.  Communications with Odyssey are subject to      necessity and available energy.  The UHF subsystem has a pair of      redundant Electra-Lite radios.  If for any reason DTE/DFE via X-Band      is not possible, the UHF passes can be used to command the rover      instead. A single quad-helix antenna called the RUHF is mounted to      the rover deck and used for either of the radios.      The computing, command, data handling, power regulation, and power      distribution functions of the rover (for all phases of the mission      including cruise and EDL) are supported by two identical computers      (two for redundancy backup) called Rover Compute Elements (RCEs).      Each computer has a 32-bit RAD750 processor which is capable of up      to 400 MIPS.  Each RCE contains a central processor (a radiation      hardened PowerPC 750 architecture system) that communicates with      peripheral devices using other cards connected on a compact PCI      backplane interface, and provides central memory storage for mission      data and telemetry of 32 Gb via a Non-Volatile Memory / Camera      (NVMCAM) card. In addition to the RCEs, power switching and analog      input/output is provided by the redundant Rover Power and Analog      Modules (RPAMs) connected to the RCEs. Battery charge management is      provided via the two Battery Control Boards (BCBs) with one BCB for      each battery.  The Rover Motor Control Assembly (RMCA) contains      drivers for controlling all engineering actuators. Up to eight      actuators can be driven simultaneously. The software in the main      computer of the rover executes a control loop which monitors the      status of the flight system during all phases, checks for the      presence of commands to execute, maintains a buffer of telemetry for      transmission, performs communication functions, and checks the      overall health of the spacecraft.      On the surface, activities such as imaging, driving, or instrument      operations are performed under commands transmitted in a command      sequence to the rover from the flight team.  The rover generates      constant Engineering, Housekeeping and Analysis (EH&A) telemetry      and episodic Event Reports (EVR) that are stored for eventual      transmission.      There are four main types of science instruments on the rover: (1)      the contact instruments APXS (Alpha-Particle X-ray Spectrometer) and      MAHLI (Mars Hand Lens Imager) on the end of the robotic arm; (2) the      remote sensing instruments ChemCam (Chemical Camera) and Mastcam      (Mast Cameras) mounted on the mast; (3) the environmental      instruments DAN (Dynamic Albedo of Neutrons), MARDI (Mars Descent      Imager), RAD (Radiation Assessment Detector), and REMS (Rover      Environmental Monitoring Station); and (4) the analytical laboratory      instruments CheMin (Chemistry and Mineralogy) and SAM (Sample      Analysis at Mars), which are inside the body of the rover.      In addition to the science cameras, the MSL rover carries 12      engineering cameras (4 Navcams and 8 Hazcams), all of which share      the same design as those on the Mars Exploration Rovers Spirit and      Opportunity (see [Makietal2003]).  The primary set of engineering      cameras is a Navcam pair near the top of the mast, a front Hazcam      pair mounted on the front panel of the rover body and a rear      Hazcam pair mounted on the back panel.  Three pairs of the cameras      provide redundant backups (an extra Navcam pair and an extra Front      and Rear Hazcam pair). The redundant backup cameras are connected      to the backup rover computer and are not expected to be used      unless there is a problem with the primary rover computer and/or      primary cameras.      The Remote Sensing Mast (RSM), provides a tall geologist's eye-      level view from the cameras mounted at the top, ~2 meters above      the Martian surface.  The RSM head includes the ChemCam, Mastcams,      and Navcams, with the ChemCam sitting inside of the remote warm      electronics box (R-WEB).  The R-WEB is a thermally controlled      enclosure atop the mast.  The RSM has the ability for azimuth and      elevation control, and can slew at 5 degrees per second.  The RSM      allows for full 360 degree (plus or minus 181 degree) azimuth and      plus or minus 91 degree elevation (zenith to nadir) range of      motion.  Mounted along the shaft of the mast are two booms for the      REMS investigation.      The Sample Acquisition, Processing, and Handling (SA/SPaH)      subsystem is responsible for the acquisition of rock and soil      samples from the Martian surface and the processing of these      samples into fine particles that are then distributed to the      analytical science instruments, SAM and CheMin.  The SA/SPaH      subsystem is also responsible for the placement of the two contact      instruments, APXS and MAHLI, on rock and soil targets.  SA/SPaH      consists of a Robotic Arm (RA) and turret-mounted devices on the      end of the arm, which include a drill, brush, soil scoop, sample      processing device, and the mechanical and electrical interfaces to      the two contact science instruments, APXS and MAHLI.  SA/SPaH also      includes drill bit boxes, the Organic Check Material (OCM), and an      observation tray, which are all mounted on the front of the rover,      and inlet cover mechanisms that are placed over the SAM and CheMin      solid sample inlet tubes on the rover top deck.      The Robot Arm (RA) is a 5 degree-of-freedom manipulator that is      used to place and hold the turret-mounted devices and instruments      on rock and soil targets, as well as manipulate the turret-mounted      sample processing hardware.  The 5 degrees of freedom are provided      by a set of rotary actuators known as the shoulder azimuth joint,      the shoulder elevation joint, the elbow joint, the wrist joint,      and the turret joint.  The joints are connected by structural      elements with long links connecting the shoulder and elbow joints      (known as the upper arm link) and connecting the elbow and wrist      joints (known as the forearm link).  When fully extended straight      ahead in the rover forward drive direction, the center of the      turret of the robotic arm is 2.3 m from the front of the rover      body.      At the end of the RA is the turret structure on which 5 devices      are mounted.  The outer diameter of the turret plus the installed      devices is 60 cm.  Two of these devices are the science contact      instruments APXS and MAHLI.  The remaining three devices are      associated with sample acquisition and sample preparation      function: the Powder Acquisition Drill System (PADS), Dust Removal      Tool (DRT), and the Collection and Handling for Interior Martian      Rock Analysis (CHIMRA).  The robotic arm can meet its positioning      requirements for targets inside a volume called the robotic arm      workspace.  The workspace volume is an upright cylinder 80 cm      diameter, 100 cm high, positioned 105 cm in front of the front      body of the rover, and extending to 20 cm below the surface when      the rover is on a smooth flat terrain.      The PADS is the device that is responsible for acquiring powdered      rock samples from up to 5 cm inside the surface of a rock.  The      drill both penetrates the rock and powders the sample to the      appropriate size for analytical instrument use.  The powder      travels up an auger in the drill and into a chamber with a      transfer tube connection to the CHIMRA processing unit.  Movement      of the powder through CHIMRA is driven by gravity (by changing the      position and orientation of the robotic arm) and vibration.      The diameter of the hole in a rock after drilling is 1.6 cm in      diameter and up to 5 cm deep, depending on the surface topography of      the rock.  Material from the upper ~1.5 cm of the drill hole is      deposited on top of the rock surrounding the drill hole and does not      make it into CHIMRA.      The grain size distribution of the drilled powder and the      temperatures to which the powder is heated during drilling will      depend on the nature of the rock being drilled, the final drill      design and performance, and operating parameters selected for use      on Mars (rotation and percussion parameters, on-off cycles, etc).      Pre-landing tests on prototype drills over a range of operational      parameters and rock types have yielded samples with ~90% of the      bulk material generated by the drill capable of passing through a      150 um sieve and 100% passing through a 1 mm sieve.  Heating of      the drilled sample in pre-landing tests was minimal.      Soil samples are acquired with CHIMRA's clam-shell scoop      mechanism, which can collect loose soil material from depths of up      to 3.5 cm.  The volume of a scooped soil sample is expected to be      between 1 and 30 cm3.      The CHIMRA provides mechanisms for sieving particles to less than      150 um, mixing the samples that pass through the 150 um sieve, and      portioning the samples into the appropriate volume (~76 mm3      per portion) for distribution to the SAM and CheMin instruments.      The CHIMRA also provides the capability for sieving particles to      less than 1 mm and portioning that material into an appropriate      volume for distribution to the SAM instrument (45-130 mm3 per      portion).      The MSL rover surface navigation coordinate frame is right-handed,      orthogonal, and defined by axes Xr, Yr, and Zr.      -- +Zr axis is normal to the rover top deck plane and points down,         from the top deck toward the wheels;      -- +Xr axis is parallel to the rover top deck plane and points         from the center of the top deck toward the RSM assembly;      -- +Yr completes the right hand frame.      The origin of the MSL rover navigation frame is centered directly      between the centers of the two middle wheels.  Instrument Host Overview - DSN  ==============================    The Deep Space Network (DSN) is a telecommunications facility managed    by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory of the California Institute of    Technology for the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration    (NASA).    The primary function of the DSN is to provide two-way communications    between the Earth and spacecraft exploring the solar system.  To carry    out this function it is equipped with high-power transmitters, low-    noise amplifiers and receivers, and appropriate monitoring and control    systems.    The DSN consists of three complexes situated at approximately equally    spaced longitudinal intervals around the globe at Goldstone (near    Barstow, California), Robledo (near Madrid, Spain), and Tidbinbilla    (near Canberra, Australia).  Two of the complexes are located in the    northern hemisphere while the third is in the southern hemisphere.    Each complex includes several antennas, defined by their diameters,    construction, or operational characteristics: 70-m diameter, standard    34-m diameter, high-efficiency 34-m diameter (HEF), and 34-m beam    waveguide (BWG).    For more information see [ASMAR&RENZETTI1993] and [JPLD-19379].  Instrument Host Overview - Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter  ======================================================    Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) was designed and built by Lockheed    Martin Space Systems.    To meet its science objectives, MRO has seven scientific    instruments: Mars Color Imager (MARCI), Mars Climate Sounder (MCS),    High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE), Compact    Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars (CRISM), Context Imager    (CTX), and Shallow (Subsurface) Radar (SHARAD).    An Electra UHF Communications and Navigation Package on MRO allows    the spacecraft to act as a communications relay between the Earth    and landers and rovers on the martian surface.  Instrument Host Overview - 2001 Mars Odyssey  ============================================    The 2001 Mars Odyssey (ODY) spacecraft was designed and built by    Lockheed Martin Astronautics (LMA).    To meet its science objectives, Mars Odyssey has three primary    instruments: Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS); Gamma Ray    Spectrometer (GRS), which includes the High Energy Neutron Detector    (HEND); and Mars Radiation Environment Experiment (MARIE).    In addition to transmitting data collected by ODY instruments and    systems, the telecommunications system is used to relay data from    Mars surface assets and measure their relative motion    radiometrically in the 400 MHz frequency range.  For more    information, see [JPLD-16303].