JPL 'Generation Zero' (early space rover technology demonstrator)

[Grey Havoc]

Introduction and Mission

The Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) has a fabled history of planetary rovers. But how do you start such a program? In 1972, I participated in the first small effort to bootstrap JPL's rover program. Dr. Ewald Heer oversaw a project to assemble a proof-of-concept rover from existing components, film a demo of the rover operating in a simulated planetary surface, and use the demo to sell the idea to funding authorities. Since this project came before the first generation of "real" rovers at JPL, I like to call it Generation Zero. Unfortunately, I have practically no documentation from the project; everything here is based on my memory.

My first real job was as a contractor programmer working at JPL. My second assignment was to Dr. Heer's project, based on my grasp of trigonometry! Dr. Heer had collected the bootstraps of his project from existing resources at JPL. He had a staff engineer, whose name I recall as “Joe.” He had a large room in one of JPL’s buildings. He had a computer. He had a contract programmer. And, most important, he had a robot!

The "mission objective" was to place a rover on a simulated planetary surface, have it survey its environment, allow "mission control" to designate a target of interest in the environment, command the rover to drive to the target, allow the controller to verify the suitability of the target, and grasp the target for close visual examination.

http://www.planetary.org/blogs/guest-blogs/2018/generation-zero-of-jpl-planetary-rovers.html
http://www.castleknob.com/generation-zero-my-best-job-ever/