Artificial intelligence on Mars rover takes over for humans

For example, based on images received on Earth, scientists might select a threadlike vein or a small concretion in a rock. Due to their small size and other pointing challenges, hitting these targets accurately with the laser has often required the rover to stay in place while ground operations personnel fine-tuned the pointing parameters. Estlin explains that AEGIS enables these targets to be hit on the first try by automatically identifying them and calculating a pointing that will center a ChemCam measurement on the target.