MO-6: ROV-ing for Detailed Data
NASA instruments that reach the surface of Venus won’t survive long in the harsh conditions. In this MO, you will race your rover against the clock to collect as much color sensor data as you can. Your team will use a programmable robot with a color sensor to simulate the DAVINCI probe’s descent through Venus’s atmosphere. You will collect data and make conclusions about the surface composition through color sensor data collection.
-
Lego SPIKE Robot or Lego Mindstorm robot
-
Laptop or tablet with software installed
-
Printed color samples
-
Double layer corrugated cardboard, foam board or similar material for ramps
-
Books or other materials to prop up the ramps
-
Data collection key
-
Explain Section: Pseudo Code Matching Cards and Robot Basics video
Venus is full of harsh conditions that currently prevent us from sending humans on a mission there. Instead, we plan on sending specially designed spacecraft to collect data during a short period of time before it is affected by the extreme surface temperatures.
To understand more about these types of data collection, check out the resources in the Getting up to Speed with ROADS from Earth to Venus document.
In this mission, your team will design and program a rover to simulate the quick descent and data collection of the DAVINCI probe. On its hour-long descent, the DAVINCI probe will take thousands of measurements and snap up-close images of the surface as soon as it emerges below the clouds.
Your robotics objective has two main goals. First, use your robot and color sensor to collect as much data as possible from the course within the 5-minute time limit. Second, analyze the RGB values you collect by comparing them to the provided key that shows different rock compositions.
The course you’ll navigate should be made within a 150cm x 150cm area. It includes three ramps up to a shared platform, three data collection areas, and a starting point. The ramp measurements position of all elements can be found in the provided instructions Your robot will use its color sensor to accurately capture RGB values of the color samples placed within these data collection areas.
Before jumping into the mission objective deliverables, take time to download the necessary software for your robot, and get familiar with the robot parts, sensors, and programming basics. If you’re new to robotics, you can find useful tips in the Explore section of Companion Course Lesson 6.
The Earth to Venus robotics course includes upward and downward ramps, so your rover needs to adapt its movement for different slopes. The rover must navigate the course terrain and collect as much data as possible within a 5 minute time limit. Your team will have an additionall 5 minutes to match your collected data to the provided key. Remember, your rover must be programmed to move and make decisions on its own—no remote control allowed.
As they work, teams should keep track of their results in their Science and Engineering Notebooks (SENs). At the end of the Challenge teams will be asked to submit a Mission Development Log (MDL) to NESSP that shows how the students worked through the Mission Objective and summarizes their results. NESSP provides an MDL Template to help guide what teams should include in their MDL. Please see MO-1 for guidelines on the format and length of the MDL.
- A brief report of how much of the color data they collected and in how many minutes
- An export of the RGB data from their most successful run in plot form AND table form
- Conclusions about rock composition baked on the comparison between their RGB plot and the provided key