Activity-based Scheduling of Science Campaigns for the Rosetta Orbiter

Rosetta was a European Space Agency (ESA) cornerstone mission that launched in March 2004, exited hibernation in January 2014, entered orbit around the comet 67P/Churyumov- Gerasimenko in August 2014 and escorted the comet through September 2016 executing the most detailed study of a comet ever undertaken by humankind. The Rosetta orbiter had 11 scientific instruments (4 remote sensing) and the Philae lander to make complementary measurements of the comet nucleus, coma (gas and dust), and surrounding environment. The ESA Rosetta Science Ground Segment utilized a science scheduling system that included an automated scheduling capability to assist in developing science plans for the Rosetta Orbiter. While the automated scheduling was a small portion of the overall Science Ground Segment (SGS) as well as the overall scheduling system, this article focuses on the automated and semi-automated scheduling software (called ASPEN-RSSC): (1) the scheduling and constraint checking capabilities of ASPEN-RSSC; (2) how the software was used pre exit from hibernation, pre lander delivery, and escort phase of the mission. Finally we describe the challenges in using the software and lessons learned for future use of automated scheduling technology for future space missions.