Funding and Support
To prepare for future human exploration missions to Mars, SCOUT integrates ICARUS (Ice, Carbon, And Regolith Ultraviolet Sensor) into a simulated crewed mission to search for life in subsurface ice deposits. Technologies that detect and characterize organics, microbes, and biosignatures are fundamental to meeting NASA's strategic goals, and analytical tools compatible with the constraints of human surface operations will be critical for future missions.
SCOUT consists of three main activities: retrofitting ICARUS into interchangeable aerial and handheld configurations, conducting a field campaign to the Galena Creek Rock Glacier in Wyoming, and performing laboratory analyses of returned samples to assess operations and the impact of ICARUS on the scientific return of the mission.
SCOUT will investigate the utility of incorporating a lightweight ultraviolet imaging system into human-robotic exploration and help inform future iterations of this technology for crewed science operations.
SCOUT is supported by NASA's 2023 Planetary Science and Technology Through Analog Research (PSTAR) program, which funds field-based analog studies that advance planetary science, exploration technologies, and science operations concepts in preparation for future missions.
Retrofit and validate ICARUS in both aerial (drone-mounted) and handheld modes for surveying rock types, detecting organic matter, and conducting science operations in the field. The ICARUS instrument will advance from TRL 4 toward future planetary mission readiness.
Develop traverse planning and sample-selection workflows that integrate ICARUS into simulated Mars exploration. Aerial surveys will guide in-situ handheld measurements and ice coring, just as a future crew might operate on Mars.
SCOUT will conduct a field campaign to the Galena Creek Rock Glacier in Wyoming where ICARUS will characterize organic matter in the field before samples are returned to the lab. The SCOUT team is always looking for new opportunities to test ICARUS and enable new science.