Abstract: Over the past two decades, several autonomous functions and system-level capabilities have successfully been demonstrated and used in deep-space operations. In spite of that, spacecraft today remain largely reliant on ground in the loop to assess situations and plan next actions, using pre-scripted command sequences. Advances have been made across mission phases including spacecraft navigation; proximity operations; entry, descent, and landing; surface mobility and manipulation; and data handling. But past practices may not be sustainable for future exploration. The ability of ground operators to predict the outcome of their plans seriously diminishes when platforms physically interact with planetary bodies, as has been experienced in two decades of Mars surface operations. This results from uncertainties that arise due to limited knowledge, complex physical interaction with the environment, and limitations of associated models. 

In this talk, Dr. Nesnas will share advances in the architecture, development, and deployment of autonomous systems for space applications, highlighting recent advances in entry descent and landing, rover navigation, and extreme terrain mobility. He will also describe progress toward future architecting of autonomous system and summarize anticipated needs based on recommendations from the Planetary Science and Astrobiology Decadal Survey.

Speaker Bio: Issa Nesnas is a principal technologist in the Autonomous Systems Division at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, where he worked for over 25 years after several years in the robotics industry. He is currently an associate director of Caltech’s CAST (Center for Autonomous Systems and Technologies and JPL’s lead on NASA’s Capability Leadership Team for Autonomous Systems.  At JPL, he led the Robotics Mobility and the Robotics Software Systems Groups across a span of thirteen years. His research included architectures for autonomous systems, perception-based navigation and manipulation, and extreme-terrain and microgravity mobility. He has served in multiple roles on three JPL rover missions. He is the recipient of the Magellan Award, JPL’s highest award for an individual scientific or technical accomplishment for his work on extreme terrain mobility.

Issa received a B.E. degree in Electrical Engineering from Manhattan College in 1991, and earned the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in robotics from the Mechanical Engineering Department at the University of Notre Dame in 1993 and 1995 respectively.