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Space Exploration and Astronomy Automation

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Springer Handbook of Automation

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Abstract

The history of automated systems operating in space environments extends approximately 75 years; practical automated tools to support astronomical observation have existed for nearly 200. Physical servomechanisms using timers and simple predeveloped rules have evolved to hardware (and, increasingly, software) capabilities with years of functioning on the Martian surface and traveling to the heliopause at the edge of interstellar space. Modern spaceflight operations represent an increasing capability to enable distributed coordination among multiple automation systems, complex communication networks, and multidisciplinary communities of scientists and engineers. This chapter addresses issues of automation and autonomy applied to software and hardware operations, as well as functions and constraints for communication, cooperation, and coordination. Examples of distributed spaceflight operations using a supervisory control paradigm include current human exploration activity, scientific communities conducting physics and planetary science study, and plans for advanced human-agent and human-human systems integration.

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Acknowledgments

The author has been supported by multiple NASA grants, including as Director of the NASA-funded Indiana Space Grant Consortium (INSGC). INSGC support was the only NASA grant active during the period of writing this chapter. The author thanks the Editor of the Handbook for the invitation and opportunity to contribute this chapter to the Handbook.

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  1. Schools of Industrial Engineering and Aeronautics & Astronautics, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA

    Barrett S. Caldwell

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  1. Barrett S. Caldwell
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Correspondence to Barrett S. Caldwell .

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  1. PRISM Center and School of Industrial Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA

    Shimon Y. Nof

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Caldwell, B.S. (2023). Space Exploration and Astronomy Automation. In: Nof, S.Y. (eds) Springer Handbook of Automation. Springer Handbooks. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-96729-1_52

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