New Level Of Work From Home: NASA Controls Mars Rover With Video Conference And 3D Glasses

Aadhya Khatri - Apr 20, 2020

NASA Curiosity team has to make do with ordinary laptops, chat rooms, and red-blue 3D glasses as they work from home

NASA has recently taken the definition of working from home to a new level when it allows scientists to control the Curiosity rover, which is operating on Mars, from the comfort of their homes.

The Jet Propulsion Laboratory team now has no access to the high-end workstations in their California office but they still manage to explore Mars. Desperate time calls for desperate solutions and that is true for the team. They use red/blue 3D glasses and ordinary laptops but somehow they manage to tell the Curiosity rover to drill into the soil of Edinburgh, an area on Mars.

nasa work from home rover mars — They use red/blue 3D glasses and ordinary laptops but somehow they manage to tell the Curiosity rover to drill into the soil of Edinburgh, an area on Mars.

According to NASA, the team used to work in one single room where they can share data, images, and screens. However, as CO.VID-19 struck and social distancing is needed, they now have to do so via chatrooms and online services.

NASA’s plan for its experts to work from home was devised at the start of March and on March 20, it was executed.

Equipment like monitors and headsets were sent to scientists’ homes. At least 20 people are involved in programming a sequence of action for the rover. And in the process, they have to talk to dozens of others.

So far, the only difference is the sheer distance from where the team bases to where their subject operates.

The CO.VID-19 infection has forced a large number of people to stay home and find new ways to cooperate. The Curiosity team is doing the same thing by participating in video conferences, several at once, and communicate via messaging apps.

While the team is still able to control the rover on Mars, the whole process takes one to two hours more than it normally would. The delay also limits the number of commands the team can give to the rover each day. However, for the most part, it is as productive as ever.

With a long history of working with astronauts on the Moon and those on the International Space Station, NASA has plenty of experience when it comes to remote working.

Nasa Curiosity Rove team — The team has to make do with red/blue 3D glasses. While the experience cannot be as immersive, these glasses work

To close any communication gaps that may arise when her team is nowhere near each other, Carrie Bridge, the science operations team chief, has to go around monitoring around 15 chat channels simultaneously.

The most pressing issue the team has to overcome is the technology barrier. At their NASA JPL facility, the scientists have access to high-performance computers, special goggles, and advanced graphics cards. However, as they work from home now, they have to make do with red/blue 3D glasses. While the experience cannot be as immersive, these glasses work.