Mission  Control Space Services Inc
Autonomous  Soil Assessment System 2.0 — In  2003, NASA 's twin Mars Exploration Rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, began  exploring the surface of the red planet. While both rovers performed for longer  than expected, Spirit's mission ended in 2009 when the rover became stuck in a  soft patch of soil. Rovers can autonomously detect and avoid rocks and other  obstacles with ease, but detecting soft soil hazards remains a challenge for  rover operators. While Opportunity is still operating, it has lost mission time  while stuck in soft soil patches. The Autonomous Soil Assessment System 2.0 ( ASAS ),  building upon previous work by Mission Control Space Services, will improve  rovers' ability to navigate through unknown environments by detecting a much  broader variety of terrains and hazard types through the use of artificial  intelligence, and specifically deep learning techniques. ASAS can be employed  to improve mission safety and efficiency in two ways: by running on ground  station computers to help rover operators plan saf