Mission operations planning: beyond MAPGEN

The MAPGEN system was deployed in the Mars Exploration Rover mission as a mission-critical component of the ground operations system. MAPGEN, which was jointly developed by ARC and JPL, represents a successful mission infusion of planning technology. The MER mission has operated spectacularly for over two years now, and we have learned valuable lessons regarding application of mixed-initiative planning technology to mission operations. These lessons have spawned new research in mixed-initiative planning and have influenced the design of a new ground operations system, called ENSEMBLE, that is base-lined for the Phoenix and Mars Science Laboratory missions. This paper discusses some of the lessons learned from the MER mission infusion experience and presents a preliminary report on these subsequent developments