Autonomous Expert GN&C System for Mars Rendezvous and Docking

Microcosm proposes to develop and validate a guidance, navigation, and control (GN&C) package to perform fully autonomous rendezvous and docking operations applicable to Mars orbit or other planetary missions. Phase I will apply Microcosm¿s current autonomous GN&C systems, including autonomous orbit transfer algorithms and optical navigation systems for coarse Martian orbit transfer, and develop the control algorithms for fine rendezvous and docking maneuvers based on relative navigation and attitude sensing. The algorithms well be validated in AttSim¿, Microcosm¿s high fidelity attitude and trajectory simulator. Requirements for a suite of optical and radar relative navigation sensors will be defined and modeled as part of the simulation. A critical element of Phase I is to design an expert control system capable of making real-time mission critical decisions, identifying abort and recovery scenarios, and balancing mission success with fuel optimization. Microcosm¿s State Machine¿ will be used to design the expert system. An autonomous rendezvous and docking simulation, including a standard docking scenario and an abort scenario, will be delivered upon completion of Phase I. Phase II will result in an autonomous rendezvous and docking GN&C system, ready for flight coding and implementation.