Spin.Works completes Mars Pinpoint Safe Landing Flight Test Campaign for ESA.

In our latest project, we developed both a multicopter flight test platform and an avionics experiment, consisting of hardware-accelerated versions of a Hazard Detection and Avoidance and Vision-Based Navigation software that was previously validated in our model-in-the-loop (MiL) facility.

These newly implemented algorithms were initially tested a processor-in-the-loop (PiL) facility, an infrastructure readily available at Spin.Works. But next, we went outdoors - and built one of the largest purpose-built Mars analogue terrains in Europe (15000m2) at a quarry in Alenquer, Portugal for more realistic tests.

A multicopter-based flight test platform (able to carry aloft an experiment of much as 12kg in mass) was developed, integrated, and validated. This platform carries its' own instrumentation set to enable autonomous flight, and is fully independent from the avionics test bench (only relative commands are accepted through the FTP-ATB interfaces).

In parallel, a Mars landing-representative sensor suite was developed and integrated in an Avionics Test Bench: an IMU, a laser altimeter, a visual camera and a scanning Lidar. The sensors were connected to both a space-representative processing unit (LEON-2 + FPGA, for the HDA algorithms) and a COTS-based Zynq-7020 board with dual-core ARM A9 CPUs and an FPGA (to perform the computationally most intensive tasks).

Once both the flight test platform and VN&HDA package were tested on the ground, and validated individually in flight, we proceeded to carry out the most extensive flight test campaign (100s of tests) ever made for a system of this type. The tests were performed following representative descent and landing trajectories over the Mars-like prepared terrain. Sensor parameters were selected such as to ensure similar sized terrain areas were observed as in a real mission. Strict time windows were enforced for any onboard decisions. Once activated, the VN&HDA system needed to work exactly as in a real Mars-landing mission.

After a year of flight testing, we have finally achieved success. Flight tests were also in a sufficiently high number as to demonstrate a statistically significant result, indicating a safe site selection probability of >99%.

By completing this project, Spin.Works has now reached TRL5. Up next for AVERT is the implementation in space hardware, and testing on a propulsive platform to reach a TRL of 7. Mars (or the Moon) are just around the corner.