Principal Investigator

Lukas Mandrake
Email: lukas.mandrake@jpl.nasa.gov

The COSMIC (Capturing Onboard Summarization to Monitor Image Change) task will extend several proven, flight-heritage technologies from the Machine Learning & Instrument Autonomy group (MLIA, 398J) to create a robust, flexible orbital system for conducting planetary surveys and change monitoring in the Martian environment using imagery that would likely never be downlinked due to bandwidth constraints. The system will be designed to facilitate and support scientist-driven exploration of Mars, delivering planet-wide summarization databases, monitoring scientist-specified areas for change, autonomously detecting changes in non-monitored areas, and providing relevant, informative descriptions of onboard images to advise downlink prioritization. This system will demonstrate a key new exploration paradigm: “Observe much, return best.”