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Phoenix: Robotic Arm (RA)

The Phoenix Robotic Arm was used to deploy the Robotic Arm Camera (RAC) and the Thermal and Electrical Conductivity Probe (TECP), along with a scoop for digging and collecting soil. Engineering data from the RA itself, including motor currents and joint positions, was used to determine the force exerted by the RA, which was helpful for safety monitoring and for soil property analysis.

RA raw data measurements are not archived in the PDS due to ITAR restrictions. The derived data are available here. In addition to data from the RA on Phoenix, data from the RA on the Payload Interoperability Testbed at JPL are included for comparison.

RA Derived Data (PDS3)

Root directory AAREADME.TXT is an introduction to the RA archive
CATALOG directory DATASET.CAT describes the RA data set
INST.CAT describes the Robotic Arm
INSTHOST.CAT describes the Phoenix Lander
MISSION.CAT describes the Phoenix mission
PERSON.CAT lists cognizant personnel for this archive
REF.CAT lists references for additional information
DATA directory The DATA directory contains one or more data files per sol, in the form of a comma-separated-value text file that may be loaded into Excel or other spreadsheet software. Each data file is described by a PDS label in a separate file.
INDEX directory INDEX.TAB lists information about each data product in the archive.
INDEX.LBL is a PDS label for INDEX.TAB.
ACTIVITY.CSV lists the commanded RA activities associated with each product.
ACTIVITY.LBL is a PDS label for ACTIVITY.CSV.
ACTIVITY_TABLE_DESC.TXT describes each RA command in detail.
TESTDATA directory The TESTDATA directory contains data from several experiments with the JPL testbed robotic arm.

Geosciences Node Tools

Phoenix Analyst's Notebook - This RA data set is available through the Analyst's Notebook under Resources -> Additional Data Sets.

RA Derived Data (PDS4)

PDS4 is the new standard for archiving data in PDS. New data sets submitted to PDS are required to use PDS4, and many existing PDS3 data sets will be converted to PDS4 as needed. The Phoenix RA data set has been converted to PDS4 as a test. More information about PDS4 is available at https://pds.nasa.gov/pds4/about/.

Root directory BUNDLE.XML is a PDS4 label for the bundle containing the Phoenix RA data and documents.
data_derived directory The data_derived directory contains the PDS4 collection of derived RA data.  The data files in the PDS4 bundle are unchanged from the PDS3 archive. Each data file is described by a PDS4 label written in XML. The collection also contains an inventory table that lists the PDS4 identifier for each data file.
data_test directory The data_test directory contains the PDS4 collection of data from experiments with the JPL testbed robotic arm. These files are unchanged from the PDS3 archive, but they now have PDS4 labels written in XML. The collection also contains an inventory table that lists the PDS4 identifier for each data file.
document directory The document directory contains the PDS4 collection of documents related to the RA derived data and test data, including descriptions of the RA instrument and data set, a readme.txt file, and an inventory table that lists the PDS4 identifier for each document.
miscellaneous directory The miscellaneous directory contains a collection of files related to RA commands. These include ACTIVITY.CSV and ACTIVITY_TABLE_DESC.TXT files from the PDS3 archive. There is also an inventory table that lists the PDS4 identifier for each file.

 

 

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