SHERPA (System Health Enabled Real-time Planning Advisor)

• Main Author: Balaban, Edward
• Other Authors: Banerjee, Somrita, Booth, Zachary, Ott, Joshua, Astle, Evan, Cannon, Wyatt
• Format: Lecture
• Language: unknown
• Published: Zenodo 2024
• Subjects: Artificial intelligence; VIPER; Mission Planning; South pole
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.11118153

SHERPA (System Health Enabled Real-time Planning Advisor) is an artificial intelligence (AI) decision support system for space missions that is based on formal decision making under uncertainty. SHERPA is model-based and adaptable to different types of missions and use cases. Among its other capabilities, it supports planning for vehicles/systems with degrading or faulty components. SHERPA is currently serving as the primary strategic mission planning system on the Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER) lunar mission (VIPER is an SMD mission to land a mobile robot in a South Pole region of the Moon to characterize deposits of water ice and other hydrogen-containing volatiles — currently in its final development phase). On VIPER, SHERPA has been used in selecting the mission area, determining the landing site, performing different types of system engineering studies, generating strategic mission plans, and evaluating these plans with respect to their scientific productivity and robustness to disruptions. During the mission, SHERPA will be used to make strategic mission plan adjustments based on the observed rover performance and scientific data collected up to that point. More information on SHERPA and other uses of AI on VIPER can be found at the links below: https://blogs.nasa.gov/artemis/2023/12/01/part-1-artificial-intelligence-and-nasas-first-robotic-lunar-rover/ https://blogs.nasa.gov/artemis/2023/12/14/part-2-artificial-intelligence-and-nasas-first-robotic-lunar-rover/