SHPE/Landmark Models is a technology task for investigating the use and construction of Shape (SHPE) and landmark models for Small Body Navigation.
For small body sample return, a suite of vision algorithms are needed for the different stages of navigation because the vision algorithms used during orbiting and landing are different. Fortunately, many of the required vision algorithms exist and some of them have even been used in flight missions (e.g., Descent Image Motion Estimation System (DIMES) and Visual Odometry on the Mars Exploration Rovers (MER)) However, as they currently exist, these algorithms cannot satisfy the needs of a small body sample return mission for the following reasons:
1. They have not been integrated into a coherent system.
2. They have not been tested and evaluated adequately for onboard operation during small body navigation.
3. They have not been integrated with existing navigation tools (I.e., AutoNav, Mission Analysis and Operational Navigation Toolkit (MONTE)).
This task will combine multiple vision approaches to develop an accurate and completely autonomous vision package for small body terminal descent and then integrate this package into MONTE.
Andrew Johnson - Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Deep Space Mission System