Data Collection in Svalbard, Norway to Test the use of Virtual Reality for Lunar and Planetary Surface Exploration

• Main Authors: Paige, Cody, Haddad, Don Derek, Ward, Ferrous, Todd, Jessica, Osinski, Gordon R., Ekblaw, Ariel, Newman, Dava
• Format: Conference Object
• Language: English
• Published: 2023 International Conference on Environmental Systems 2023
• Subjects: virtual reality; ISRU; geologic surface exploration; Moon surface exploration; Mars surface exploration; Canada; Ekblaw; Longyearbyen; Norway; Paige; Svalbard; Todd; permafrost
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/2346/94753

Cody Paige, Massachusetts Institute of Technology(MIT), USA Don Derek Haddad, Massachusetts Institute of Technology(MIT), USA Ferrous Ward, Massachusetts Institute of Technology(MIT), USA Jessica Todd, Massachusetts Institute of Technology(MIT), USA Gordon R. Osinski, University of Western Ontario, USA Ariel Ekblaw, Massachusetts Institute of Technology(MIT), USA Dava Newman, Massachusetts Institute of Technology(MIT), USA ICES506: Human Exploration Beyond Low Earth Orbit: Missions and Technologies The 52nd International Conference on Environmental Systems was held in Calgary, Canada, on 16 July 2023 through 20 July 2023. As part of MIT's work with the Resource Exploration and Science of our Cosmic Environment (RESOURCE) project with NASA Ames and the Solar System Exploration Research Virtual Institute we are testing both the scientific and operational usefulness of a virtual reality environment for local, small-scale (< 5 m) geological analysis for Lunar and planetary surface exploration missions. Specifically, we are testing a virtual reality (VR) environment developed using a low-cost commercial off-the-shelf combination LiDAR/RGB camera for geological exploration. We incorporate local environmental data such as temperature, luminosity, humidity, and wind. The data was collected in Svalbard, Norway, from three locations near Longyearbyen. The sites were selected based on their distinct geological features including 1) a riverbed in a glacially carved valley (<10 cm-scale features), 2) the base of a recent glacial retreat (last 100 years, 10-50 cm) and 3) a permafrost feature (>1 m). This data is rendered in VR and will be used to assess scientist's abilities to answer questions about the relevant local geology for differing feature scales (<10 cm, 10-50 cm and >1 m). The VR environment will be compared to a traditional desktop application in 2-dimensions and geological field notes taken on an app developed by the University of Western Ontario for geological field work. Here we ...