MarsCAPE: Mars Communicated through an Augmented, Physical Environment In the last decade, vast amounts of planetary science data has been made available publicly often focused on Mars. Such data is typically disseminated via the web and made available through screenbased visualisations. However, this approach can make it difficult to convey the broader context of a feature of interest or the spatial arrangement of surface phenomena. To better support learning and engagement, we present and evaluate MarsCAPE: Mars Communicated through an Augmented, Physical Environment. MarsCAPE consists of physical models of the surface of Mars, augmented by projected information and visualizations. To assess its learning and engagement value, a structured workshop and formal evaluation were conducted. Participants reported a significant increase in knowledge, found the models engaging, and exhibited natural learning without prompting. Systems such as MarsCAPE have potential to provide an interesting, educational way for the public to access planetary data that goes beyond the capabilities of onscreen visualizations.

Mapping for Planetary Rovers from Terramechanics Perspective In an autonomous scientific exploration system, the terrain map generated from mapping process integrates sensing information from multiple aspects and lays the base for decision making processes. With the increasing challenges in planetary exploration, equipping planetary rovers with the principles of terramechanics is becoming more and more common, especially on rough or intricate terrain. However, it is difficult for conventional maps with elevation information only to reflect terrain mechanical properties, which play important roles in terramechanicsbased simulation or motion control. This study extracts the dominant parameters in terrain bearing and shearing models, and presents a multilayered grid map with fundamental geometric and mechanical elements. A corresponding mapping scheme based on dense visual input is designed to reconstruct elevation in the map and predict terrain mechanical parameters of the entire visual field. Experiments are conducted to verify the practicability of the approach proposed in a Mars emulation yard with a rover prototype.