On the way back from Kelly Lake, we swung by Pavilion Lake to take some shots of the live sub operations underway. This is a very beautiful part of the world.

Next year the team will be diving into a lake called Kelly Lake, and potentially Pavilion Lake at the same time.  This creates a challenge for the communications team.  Both sites must have broadband access to the Space Network Research Federation (SNRF) and the Internet, and be able to communicate from site to site at all times.

Satellite connectivity is great, but in this environment the “terrain mask” (steep rise of the terrain all around us) makes it difficult to hit a satcom “bird” in the sky from these high northern latitudes.  On top of this, satellite transponder time can be expensive (especially considering the amount of “megahertz” or transponder we need!), and adds a significant “latency” to the communications link (in both directions) because the satellites are orbiting so far above the Earth.  This latency can cause problems for some of the operations conducted by this team, and terrestrial interfaces tend to have very low latency.

We took a Trackstick with us in the helicopter, and you can see the path we flew here (thanks to Google Earth!)

So we took off in a helicopter in Lillooet, and flew to Kelly Lake to visit and survey the terrestrial (ground/mountain-based) communications options for communications near the lake.  If we can avoid using a satcom link, we’ll have greater bandwidth and network performance at the 2011 test operations.

We found several options for connectivity or relay on a few mountains surrounding Kelly Lake, and even some options to link the two lakes together for next year’s mission.  This begins a year’s worth of planning “now”.  ; )

- Marc

Pavilion Lake, looking south

One of the DeepWorker chase boats, looking south.

Damien McCombs answers questions about his job as PLRP First Aid Attendant. To ask your question, visit www.astrobio.net and search for the Pavilion Lake Research Project, or click this link: www.tinyurl.com/askplrp.

Click here to view the embedded video.

This morning the towers of downtown Vancouver, across Burrard Inlet from our hotel, were blurred with a grey veil of rain. No trouble, I thought. It rained yesterday and we got plenty of training done regardless. Rain is not really a threat to a submarine! But, crucially, the big rotating sign in the shape of a “Q” that marked the Lonsdale Quay marketplace was behaving oddly. Every once in a while its steady turning would stall, or even reverse for a few seconds.

The magnitude of the problem didn’t become apparent until we got out to the marine lab. The Canadian flag at the front of the building snapped madly and strained at its line. The sea was dark grey and spangled with whitecaps. Two-foot seas washed over the float where the support skiff was moored and interfered with each other near shore to make a high, sharp, chaotic chop. Sailboats in ones and twos, aborting cruise plans for the Easter weekend, struggled in the direction of the harbor under bare poles, pitching and plunging. Not a pretty day for nautical endeavors. (We found out later that it was the strongest windstorm in several years, with winds reaching 100 km/h. It dropped trees on power lines, cutting electricity to over 100,000 customers, and forced cancellation of some ferry service).

Our instructors didn’t like the look of things either. “Do you get seasick easily?” one of them asked me. Jeff was frowning at the idea of putting a sub under tow in the present sea state, if it should have a mechanical problem. For about an hour we stood around in our full raingear, watching the weather for signs of improvement. Our patience was not rewarded. If anything, it seemed to be getting worse–visibility dropping, sleet beginning to mix in with the rain. We began discussing how much submarine training we might be able to accomplish without having to court nausea and disaster by putting the vehicles in the water.

What we settled on was to call our sonar and manipulator work of the previous day sufficient and to devote our time today to the one system on the sub that we hadn’t touched yet: the video camera and recorder. It emerged that the video system works pretty much the same on land and in the water. Chris and I took turns sitting in DeepWorker #7, hatch closed to keep the rain out of the cockpit but resting securely on dry land, and working through the video controls. This was quickly done. Then we headed for the warmth and dryness of the lab for coffee and “Timbits” (evidently the Canadian word for donut holes). We had a relaxed discussion of all we’d learned. After that we exchanged a final round of thank-yous and handshakes, called our submarine driver certification complete, and parted company.

Thus ends Dr. Love’s underwater blog for now. It was a wonderful treat to drive the Deep Worker, and a much appreciated privilege to be allowed to do so, especially in the company of such excellent teachers and fellow students. For me this training trip was also a satisfying visit to the Pacific Coast. I was raised in Western Oregon, and any day when I get to see clouds caught in tall trees is a good one! The blog will resume this summer in a higher and less rainy environment, when I meet the DeepWorker submersible again for the Real Deal: the field season at Pavilion Lake.

-Stan

For the past 10 days we have been making real time maps of all of the sub operations at Pavilion Lake. To do this, we have written some software to generate KML files to load into Google Earth. The Intelligent Robotics Group at NASA Ames has a lot of experience with ground data systems for NASA missions like the MER rovers, robotic earth analog field tests like the Robotic Recon test in northern Arizona in June, disaster response applications, and the Gigapan camera system, we were able to put together a set of tools to support sub tracking and mapping using a lot of existing software. We call the collection of tools and processes the “Surface Data System.”

Pavilion Lake 2009 Data Map

We started with importing overlays of the bedrock geology from British Columbia Geological Survey (BCGS), as well as sonar bathymetry and sonar backscatter maps that show depth of the lake and structure of the bottom. These provide context for flight planning and for setting expectations for what we will find during the flights. In real time during the submarine flights, we get sub position every 5 seconds from the navigation computer on the chase boat. We use that to track the sub by periodically writing out updated KML files and automatically refreshing them in Google Earth as network links. A submarine icon shows the current location of the sub, and a compass rose shows bearings to indicate which way to go to reach the next waypoint. Google Earth also provides lots of measurement tools, annotation tools, and other built-in functions that we can use to annotate and analyze the map. All of this information is saved to a shared filesystem so that everyone at the camp has access to all of the same map data.

We have established an operations role on the support vessels which we call the “Science Stenographer”. That person’s job is to listen in on the voice loop and transcribe any significant observations in real time. Observations worth calling up to the surface immediately appear on the map as icons that you can click on to read the date, time, lat/long, and what was said.

My reflection in the monitor showing the stenography program

In addition, the submarines are recording video continuously. The video recorder also has an “event” button that can mark the timestamp of a significant event on the video. In post-processing, we cross-correlate the timestamps to get position, and put a preview image and compressed video clip into the map as well.

These maps have been very useful for operations, for post-flight analysis, and for planning the next set of activities. After the flights are over, the science back room immediately has the flight track as-flown and georeferenced notes from the pilots. After some video post-processing (which takes some time simply due to the quantity of data: over 25 GB of video from each flight) the video clips and video stills are georeferenced and in the map. This information has been used to modify or create flight plans in real time. As an example, one morning Margarita identified interesting sampling locations during her flight. The post-flight map was immediately used to create a second flight plan to send Ricky to those locations for sample collection that same afternoon. It has also been interesting to see all of the flights and notes and images on one map simultaneously. The team realized before the end of the field season that there were areas of the lake that had not been covered and could plan accordingly.

Georeferenced notes attached to the flight tracks in Google Earth

Without this real time information procesing and integration, it would have been too late to go back and investigate those areas during the field season. Those flight plans would have to wait for another year. In a field setting with a lot of logistics overhead and a short duration for field work, understanding the big picture of operations quickly is a big time saver.

Georeferenced tree image in Pavilion Lake

After the field season is over, the map data will be used by the team to analyse and correlate information from across the lake and across different flights to support their research, and to plan next year’s activities. All of the observations and information gathered this year bring up new questions and new hypotheses, and there is always more to study in this lake.

The images in this post show a few different views of map screens. There is also a

KMZ file that you can download and open in Google Earth to see one of our flight plans and watch the time lapse animated flight track for the actual submarine positions flight as it was flown that day. Try setting the playback speed to the minimum for best results. Enjoy!

- Matt

DOWNLOAD THE KMZ FILE

Andrew on the deck

As happens most days, this afternoon we had a local visitor stop by the mobile command center to see what was going on in the big trailer with NASA and CSA logos on it. As we explained what was happening at the various workstations, he was particularly interested when we told him that we were trying to use a variety of metrics to better understand the many different factors that influence the effectiveness of scientific exploration. I explained that we are using several different techniques to try and measure aspects of scientific exploration that are very difficult to put numbers to – things like scientific merit, productivity, and data quality – and that if we can measure these things then we can begin to understand how to do scientific exploration more effectively, whether we are under water or on the moon.

He told me that he is working on a very similar challenge right now but applied to fighting fires rather than finding funky-looking rocks in lakes. There are a lot of ways to fight fires and new technologies can help. But which technologies are most effective and do their benefits justify their costs? Difficult questions and this firefighter is trying to develop metrics to begin answering them. He fully appreciated the importance of measuring what you hope to understand. He recognized that his task would be a difficult one, that in science or firefighting some people want perfect metrics or no metrics. But he was undeterred. Good man.

-Andrew

Thanks to our amazing communications team here at the lake, we have now installed two live webcams on site: one from the shore looking out to the lake, and one on the DeepWorker mobile launch platform.

These images are found under the “Interactive” tab on our website, and also available here:

http://www.pavilionlake.com/real-time-shore-cam.php
http://www.pavilionlake.com/real-time-barge-cam.php

This is just the start: lots more to come later in the week!

-Ben

KSC’s Mobile Mission Control Center (MMCC) left Kennedy Space Center for its cross continent trip to Pavilion Lake on Friday, June 26th. It will arrive at the lake on July 4th, along with the KSC communications team including myself, Bill Dearing, and Marc Seibert.

On board the trailer is all of the communications and logistics gear to support the Pavilion Lake project this year. If you have been to the lake before, you know that its location does not lend itself to good communication. There is no cell phone coverage (nearest is 30-45 minute drive away), and no Starbucks on every corner for free Wi-Fi access.

KSC's Mobile Mission Control Center

The KSC communications team will be changing all of that. We will be setting up a wireless hot spot zone that will cover the entire lake, including voice communications with the submarines. The test team should be able to be online sending reports over the internet and talking to other scientists and researchers from around the world over many of the VoIP phone circuits we are bringing to the lake.

The past couple of weeks have been filled with last minute testing of gear, packing the MMCC trailer, as well as some extra juggling around of the trailer for a open house at the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) launch party in the rocket garden at the KSC Visitor Center. The MMCC trailer is beginning the 2009 NASA Analog season with its trip to Pavilion Lake. After PLRP, it will leave for Johnson Space Center in Texas to support dry-run activities in preparation for the September Desert Rats outing at the Black Point Lava Flow in Arizona.

I’m looking forward to visiting Pavilion Lake for my first field season, and especially excited to lend support to the DeepWorker submersible operations. By enabling better communication, the team will be able to achieve more science goals while at the lake than was ever possible in the past.

~Mike Downs