NASA to send trio of autonomous rovers to the moon

Aug. 3 (UPI) -- NASA plans to send a group of three mini rovers to the moon next year to test their ability to perform autonomous tasks.

The mission is slated to launch as part of NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services initiative in 2024 aiming to demonstrate how NASA's Cooperative Autonomous Distributed Robotic Exploration project can boost the efficiency of missions by using robots that operate without direct human control.

"Our mission is to demonstrate that a network of mobile robots can cooperate to accomplish a task without human intervention -- autonomously," said Jet Propulsion Laboratory CADRE project manager Subha Comandur.

Mission controllers will give generalized commands to a 13-foot-tall command base on the main lander which will in turn assign commands to the three rovers, which NASA said are about the size of a carry-on suitcase.

CADRE principal investigator Jean-Pierre de la Croix said the commanders will only give the rovers a "high-level goal" and they will then determine how to accomplish it on their own.

"The only instruction is, for example, 'Go explore this region,' and the rovers figure out everything else: when they'll do the driving, what path they'll take, how they'll maneuver around local hazards," said de la Croix.

The rovers will be tasked with driving in formation and using their sensors to detect and navigate around obstacles on the lunar.

A camera placed atop the lander will monitor the progress of the rovers as they complete tasks.

The lunar mission could serve as a springboard for future human space exploration.

"By taking simultaneous measurements from multiple locations, the rovers are meant to show how multi-robot missions could potentially enable new science or support astronauts," NASA said.