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Experiment/Payload OverviewBrief Summary
The Synchronized Position Hold, Engage, Reorient, Experimental Satellites - Zero - Robotics (SPHERES-Zero-Robotics) investigation establishes a opportunity for high school students to design research for the International Space Station (ISS). As part of a competition, students write algorithms for the SPHERES satellites to accomplish tasks relevant to future space missions. The algorithms are tested by the SPHERES team and the best designs are selected for the competition to operate the SPHERES satellites on board the ISS.
Principal Investigator
Payload Developer
Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, Arlington, VA, United States
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Space Systems Laboratory, Cambridge, MA, United States
Aurora Flight Sciences Corporation, Cambridge, MA, United States
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
Sponsoring Organization:National Laboratory Office (NLO)
ISS Expedition Duration:October 2009 - March 2013
Expeditions Assigned
21/22, 23/24, 25/26, 29/30, 31/32, 33/34
Previous ISS MissionsSPHERES-Zero-Robotics makes use of the SPHERES satellites currently on board the ISS.
Experiment/Payload Description
Research Summary
- Synchronized Position Hold, Engage, Reorient, Experimental Satellites - Zero - Robotics (SPHERES-Zero-Robotics) opens up the International Space Station (ISS) for use by high school students, providing them the opportunity to act as ground controllers for research in space utilizing the SPHERES satellites.
- High school students program the SPHERES satellites as part of a competition to design algorithms for a predetermined objective.
Synchronized Position Hold, Engage, Reorient, Experimental Satellites-Zero-Robotics (SPHERES-Zero-Robotics) provides dozens of high school students access to the microgravity environment for experimentation and analysis. Through the Synchronized Position Hold, Engage, Reorient, Experimental Satellites (SPHERES) program, the next generation of scientists and engineers are inspired to push the limits of space exploration and engineering. SPHERES-Zero-Robotics develops and builds critical engineering skills for students including: problem solving, design thought process, operations training, teamwork and presentation skills. The SPHERES-ZERO-Robotics program provides high school students the opportunity to develop algorithms for SPHERES currently on board the International Space Station (ISS). Students design software to accomplish complex tasks in space; such as docking, assembly, and formation flight.
Each season begins with the unveiling of a game motivated by a challenging problem of interest to NASA and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). During the competition, each team must complete a set of pre-determined tasks. During all phases, the students are challenged not only with programming, but also with the development of documentation and presentations to add to their engineering and communication skills. In all cases, the students have to learn and practice successful teamwork skills as there are minimum team size requirements. There are four steps in the competition:
- Proposal Submission: Students propose a solution to the challenge of the competition. Students clearly outline the motivation, the science behind their algorithm, project implementation, and data they expect to collect to show it worked properly. This phase teaches students the basics of writing a proposal and also serves as a registration step. Teams are not eliminated at this step.
- Simulation: Students implement their algorithm in simulation. This step verifies successful algorithm implementation prior to hardware testing, and allows for a baseline performance expectation. If the number of teams participating is greater than can be accommodated in flight, this step is used as an elimination round.
- Ground Testing: Teams translate their algorithms from simulation to hardware, accounting for computation and communication limitations. Teams that demonstrate correctly operating simulations are invited to MIT?s flat floor facility in Cambridge, MA to test them. Teams are selected based on the performance of hardware tests.
- Flight Testing: The selected teams modify their algorithms for implementation in space. Tests are integrated and packaged to be run on ISS. This step includes at least one ISS test session, with live feed of the crew executing the tests. Students have the opportunity to view their test run in real-time. Data and telemetry is downlinked to the students a few days after the event so that they can perform data analysis and submit a final report.
Applications
Space Applications
The NASA ?International Space Station Education Concept Development Report? calls out three levels of interaction for students involved with NASA activities: exposure, engage, and educate. SPHERES-Zero-Robotics provides a unique and valuable opportunity to go far beyond exposure. The students are truly engaged in space research; the need for them to create their own programs takes it to the point where they are being educated. In this way, SPHERES-Zero-Robotics inspires future scientists and engineers to work within the space program. Starting at the high school age group, students view working in space as ?normal,? with the expectation that they become inspired to push the limits of space exploration, engineering, and development.
Earth ApplicationsSPHERES-Zero-Robotics provides a unique and valuable opportunity to maintain students interested in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) careers; even those who do not wish to pursue space careers see their lives affected by knowing their work can have an impact beyond the classroom. The ability of the students to participate in real engineering activities, beginning in high school, potentially encourages them to remain interested in those fields. SPHERES-Zero-Robotics also builds critical engineering skills for students such as problem solving, design thought process, operations training, teamwork, and presentation skills.
Operations
Operational Requirements
The SPHERES-Zero-Robotics Competition has four steps in the process: The objective of Step 1, Proposal Preparation and Submission, is to introduce the students to the basics of writing a proposal and demonstrating software development. There is no elimination criterion at this step; all teams who submit a complete proposal are accepted. The objective of Step 2 involves the initial competition which determines schools with working algorithms. Students are eliminated if they have not scored points; only teams that have scored points go to regional competition. The objective of Step 3 is to test the algorithms on Earth for the regional competition at NASA and industry facilities around the country. The Regional winners have their algorithms compete on the ISS. The objective of Step 4 is to test the algorithms on board the ISS.
The SPHERES satellites must be operated under the supervision of a crewmember. Each SPHERES-Zero-Robotics session lasts between 3 to 4 hours. The session has as much real-time video and audio available as possible; therefore, the ground teams can get the results immediately after each test and tally scores.
During the flight sessions there are three phases: programming SPHERES, free-flying operations, and data retrieval. Programming the satellites involves uploading the algorithms for each specific session to the SPHERES laptop from the ground crew. The laptop is used to send the algorithms and commands to the satellites, and receive data and status reports from the satellites. The data is then downlinked to the ground crew for analysis. During free-flying operations, the satellites perform various maneuvers with one to three satellites operating simultaneously. Once the test session is complete, the data is downlinked to the ground, via the Operations Local Area Network (Ops LAN), for analysis by the SPHERES team. This analysis allows new and/or modified tests to be uplinked for use in the next test session.
Results/More Information
In the fall of 2009, the pilot competition for SPHERES-Zero-Robotics included two teams from Idaho. Bonners Ferry High School and Coeur d?Alene School district competed in simulation, ground testing and ISS testing. Neither team was eliminated at any point. The first SPHERES-Zero-Robotics competition aboard the ISS took place on December 9, 2009.
Zero Robotics SPHERES Challenge 2010: HelioSPHERES saw 24 teams selected from a pool of 48 applicants to participate in the inaugural competition. The finals took place on December 16, 2010 with the LCA Team Zero BotX from Lexington Christian Academy, Massachusetts, winning the tournament. Team Delta Falmouth from Falmouth High School, Maine, received special mention for being the only team to demonstrate station docking during the finals. Team Ganymede from Friendswood High School, Texas, also received special mention for leading the competition until the finals and setting the path for exemplary strategies. The final standings were as follows:
- 1st - LCA Team ZeroBotX, Lexington Christian Academy, MA
2nd - Delta Falmouth, Falmouth High School / Falmouth Maine, ME
3rd - SuperNOVA, Prince William County School System, VA
4th - A-Team, Cyprus High School/ Granite School District, UT
5th - Ganymede, Friendswood High School, TX
5th - Glenbrook North, Glenbrook North High School, IL
5th - USC SCALE, Upper St. Clair School District, PA
5th - Stuy-Naught, Stuyvesant High School, NY
9th - BACON, Charlottesville High School, VA
9th - Team Vector, Naples High School, FL
The Zero Robotics SPHERES Challenge 2011is in the planning stages.
Related Web Sites
Publications
Ground Based Results Publications
ISS Patent Publications
Related Publications
Images
Photo of the SPHERES-Zero-Robotics Pilot Program teams at MIT during the ISS Test Session (2009-12-09). The two teams (Delta [left] and Absolute Zero [right]) with the SPHERES team (front). Astronaut Jeff Williams is shown on the screen running one of the tests. + View Larger Image
NASA Image: ISS016E014220 - Three satellites fly in formation as part of the Synchronized Position Hold, Engage, Reorient, Experimental Satellites (SPHERES) investigation. This image was taken during Expedition 16 in the Destiny laboratory module. + View Larger Image
If updates are needed to the summary please contact JSC-ISS-Program-Science-Group. For other general questions regarding space station research and technology, please feel free to call our help line at 281-244-6187 or e-mail at JSC-ISS-Payloads-Helpline.