Real-Time Hardware-in-the-Loop Test Configuration: Use Case for the Fine Guidance System of PLATO

The presentation describes a real-time hardware in the loop test configuration with payload hardware units and simulators, used for the verification and validation of the Fine Guidance System of the PLATO mission. The presentation covers the motivation behind a combination of real and emulated hardware, a description of the PLATO mission and its Fine Guidance System, the test configuration, the related timing expected during tests and tools for test automation. Morover, a solution for a data archiving tool is provided

In situ science on Phobos with the Raman spectrometer for MMX (RAX): preliminary design and feasibility of Raman meausrements

Mineralogy is the key to understanding the origin of Phobos and its position in the evolution of the Solar System. In situ Raman spectroscopy on Phobos is an important tool to achieve the scientifc objectives of the Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) mission, and maximize the scientifc merit of the sample return by characterizing the mineral composition and heterogeneity of the surface of Phobos. Conducting in situ Raman spectroscopy in the harsh environment of Phobos requires a very sensitive, compact, lightweight, and robust instrument that can be carried by the compact MMX rover. In this context, the Raman spectrometer for MMX (i.e., RAX) is currently under development via international collaboration between teams from Japan, Germany, and Spain. To demonstrate the capability of a compact Raman system such as RAX, we built an instrument that reproduces the optical performance of the fight model using commercial of-the-shelf parts. Using this performance model, we measured mineral samples relevant to Phobos and Mars, such as anhydrous silicates, carbonates, and hydrous minerals. Our measurements indicate that such minerals can be accurately identifed using a RAX-like Raman spectrometer. We demonstrated a spectral resolution of approximately 10 cm−1, high enough to resolve the strongest olivine Raman bands at ~820 and ~850 cm−1, with highly sensitive Raman peak measurements (e.g., signal-to-noise ratios up to 100). These results strongly suggest that the RAX instrument will be capable of determining the minerals expected on the surface of Phobos, adding valuable information to address the question of the moon’s origin, heterogeneity, and circum-Mars material transport

OBC-NG Concept and Implementation

OBC-NG is the abbreviation for on-board-computer next generation – a project founded and made by the German Aerospace Center (DLR). The project goal is to provide the basis for future on-board computer (OBC) for space-missions. This document summarizes the conducted work, made in the DLR-project OBC-NG and its predecessor project “Software and Hardware Architecture for Re-configurable Computers”

OBC-NG: Towards a reconfigurable on-board computing architecture for spacecraft

The computational demands on spacecraft are rapidly increasing. Current on-board computing components and architectures cannot keep up with the growing requirements. Only a small selection of space-qualified processors and FPGAs are available and current architectures stick with the inflexible cold-redundant structure. The objective of the ongoing project OBC-NG (On-board Computer - Next Generation) is to find new concepts for on-board-computer to fulfill future requirements. The concept presented in this paper is based on a distributed reconfigurable system, consisting of different nodes for processing, management and interface operations. OBC-NG will exploit the high performance of commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) hardware parts. To compensate the shortcomings of COTS parts the OBC-NG redundancy approach differs from the classic way and error mitigation techniques will work mainly on software level. This paper discusses the hardware and software architecture of the system as well as the redundancy and reconfiguration concept. Our ideas will be proven in an OBC-NG prototype, planned for the next year

ScOSA - Scalable On-Board Computing for Space Avionics

Computational demands on spacecraft have continuously increased for years whereby available space qualified hardware is not capable of satisfying these requirements completely. This paper introduces a way to overcome this problem by combining highly reliable space qualified hardware with highly performant commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) components. This combination of hardware enabled us to develop a new type of on-board computing (OBC) system, called ScOSA (Scalable On-Board Computing for Space Avionics). A ScOSA system uses a distributed approach whereas it consists of multiple nodes. They are classified as reliable or high performance nodes. The reliable nodes are based on radiation-hardened Leon3 processors, the high-performance nodes on COTS Xilinx Zynq (CPU and FPGA). All nodes are connected by a SpaceWire network with a meshed topology that provides redundant data paths to establish fault tolerance. A large number of existing systems can be connected to our system given that SpaceWire is widely used within the space domain. ScOSA has additional capabilities during operation that set it apart from traditional on-board computing systems. During runtime a dynamic reconfiguration of the whole system can be performed. By this, faulty nodes can be removed or recovered nodes can be reintegrated into the system. Additionally, computation tasks can be started, stopped or shifted between all active nodes. Also, connected FPGAs can be reprogrammed. As a consequence, these reconfiguration capabilities can be used to fulfill changing requirements without exchanging the underlying hardware. This can also be used to handle different spacecraft modes or mission phases. The contribution of this paper is to explain the details of the ScOSA architecture, implementation and its functionality. Additionally, we will show the results of running representative applications from the space robotics, earth-observation and satellite avionics domains. These applications were selected for evaluating the system capabilities and include, among others, autonomous navigation and capture operations, stereo image processing and optical ship detection. Testing and demonstration will be done in Hardware-in-the-Loop simulators or on robotic testbeds (namely DLR’s EPOS and OOS-Sim)

Irradiation qualification campaign of the vSWIR InGaAs imaging sensor for the VEM and VenSpec-M instruments on VERITAS and EnVision

International audienceThe first NASA spacecraft to visit and explore planet Venus since the 1990s will be the Venus Emissivity, Radio science, InSAR, Topography, And Spectroscopy mission (VERITAS) orbiter. The Venus Emissivity Mapper (VEM) onboard the spacecraft is designed for surface mapping of Venus within dedicated atmospheric spectral windows. The instrument will provide global coverage for the detection of thermal emissions like volcanic activity, surface rock composition, water abundance, cloud formation and their dynamics by observing 14 narrow filter bands in the near-infrared to short-wave infrared (NIR, SWIR) range of 790 nm to 1510 nm. An almost identical instrument will be part of ESA’s recently announced EnVision mission to Venus, the VenSpec-M in the Venus Spectroscopy Suite (VenSpec). The utilized photodetector for both missions will be an InGaAs type imaging sensor with integrated thermoelectric (TE) cooling, comprising a 640x512 pixel array with 20 µm pixel pitch.In general, a space environmental qualification of electronic devices combines its susceptibility to radiation induced single event effects (SEE) and the evaluation of permanent degradation effects due to total ionizing dose (TID) and displacement damage dose (DDD) and the assessment of the radiation-induced noise.After the qualification test with heavy-ions focusing on SEE performed at Radiation Effects Facility in Finland (RADEF) was completed, our imaging sensor was subject to a proton irradiation test campaign at Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB) for combined TID and DDD testing, for the assessment of the radiation-induced noise and to investigate proton-induced SEE.

RAX: The Raman Spectrometer for the MMX Phobos Rover

We present the Raman Spectrometer onboard JAXA’s Martian Moons Exploration (MMX) mission. As part of the MMX Rover, the RAX instrument is built to measure and identify the surface mineralogy of Phobos. This is realized by acquiring Raman spectra in-situ, surveying the geology beneath the Rover body. The RAX data supports the MMX top-level science by providing ground truth information of Phobos, complementary to the samples returned to Earth by the MMX spacecraft. RAX is a very lightweight and highly compact Raman spectrometer with a mass of 1.5 kg and a volume of only approximately 1 dm³. The spectrometer is equipped with a miniaturized and highly sensitive optical assembly, that allows for measuring rather weak Raman signals and enables the identification of water-bearing minerals. The Raman excitation (λ = 532 nm) is realized via a separate laser module based on the Raman Laser Spectrometer (RLS) laser developed for the ExoMars2022 mission. In order to focus the laser onto the Phobos ground below the Rover, the spectrometer includes an autofocus mechanism. The RAX instrument covers a spectral range of 535 to 680 nm, corresponding to a Raman shift of approximately 90 to 4000 cm−1. The spectral resolution over the whole spectral range is about 10 cm−1. This paper presents the design and development of the RAX instrument. The optical performance of the spectrometer is demonstrated using Raman spectra recorded on the physical hardware models. The RAX flight model has been delivered to the MMX Phobos Rover in August 2022. The MMX mission is to be launched in 2024. First RAX data obtained from Phobos are expected in 2027. The RAX instrument is a joint contribution by the German Aerospace Center (DLR), Instituto Nacional de Técnica Aerospacial (INTA) and JAXA