Investigating Habitability with an Integrated Rock-Climbing Robot and Astrobiology Instrument Suite.

A prototype rover carrying an astrobiology payload was developed and deployed at analog field sites to mature generalized system architectures capable of searching for biosignatures in extreme terrain across the Solar System. Specifically, the four-legged Limbed Excursion Mechanical Utility Robot (LEMUR) 3 climbing robot with microspine grippers carried three instruments: a micro-X-ray fluorescence instrument based on the Mars 2020 mission's Planetary Instrument for X-ray Lithochemistry provided elemental chemistry; a deep-ultraviolet fluorescence instrument based on Mars 2020's Scanning Habitable Environments with Raman and Luminescence for Organics and Chemicals mapped organics in bacterial communities on opaque substrates; and a near-infrared acousto-optic tunable filter-based point spectrometer identified minerals and organics in the 1.6-3.6 µm range. The rover also carried a light detection and ranging and a color camera for both science and navigation. Combined, this payload detects astrobiologically important classes of rock components (elements, minerals, and organics) in extreme terrain, which, as demonstrated in this work, can reveal a correlation between textural biosignatures and the organics or elements expected to preserve them in a habitable environment. Across >10 field tests, milestones were achieved in instrument operations, autonomous mobility in extreme terrain, and system integration that can inform future planetary science mission architectures. Contributions include (1) system-level demonstration of mock missions to the vertical exposures of Mars lava tube caves and Mars canyon walls, (2) demonstration of multi-instrument integration into a confocal arrangement with surface scanning capabilities, and (3) demonstration of automated focus stacking algorithms for improved signal-to-noise ratios and reduced operation time.

Behavioral Investments in the Short Term Fail to Produce a Sunk Cost Effect.

A cognitive bias known as the sunk cost effect has been found across a number of contexts. This bias drives the continued investment of time, effort, or money into an endeavor on the basis of prior investments into it. In Studies 1 and 2, we attempted to observe whether this effect occurs for short-term behavioral investments. In both studies, a reverse, or no sunk cost effect was found. In Study 3, we attempted to find an effect using hypothetical scenarios that were analagous to the behavioral investments presented in Study 1. This also failed to reveal an effect. Finally, Study 4 was an attempt to replicate a previously used hypothetical investment scenario; with results this time revealing the effect. A number of explanations for this pattern of results, such as participation and salient physical exertion, are discussed, with the possibility that some short-term behavioral investments are not subject to the sunk cost effect.