Planning tools for Mars surface operations: Human-Computer Interaction lessons learned

This paper presents human-computer interaction (HCI) lessons learned over the course of design, development, and operation of activity planning tools on the Mars exploration rovers, the Phoenix Mars Lander, and looking ahead to the upcoming Mars Science Laboratory. These lessons and associated improvements to software tools range from challenging technical problems which require significant new software development to relatively simple or "low tech" issues which come to light when the focus is turned to the tool users in tactical operations during flight. The paper concludes with a brief analysis of tool performance on the Phoenix Mars Lander mission and identifies some areas of emphasis for future improvements on the Mars Science Laboratory Mission.