Finds rocks in the rover's camera images, ranks them against the scientists' priorities and points an instrument at the best, with nobody on Earth in the loop.
| Operator | NASA |
|---|---|
| Developer | NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory |
| Host | Opportunity, Curiosity, Perseverance |
| Where | surface of Mars |
| Class | perception |
| Hardware | the rovers' own computers, not named |
| Model or software | AEGIS, using the Rockster rock-detection algorithm |
| Launched | not applicable |
| Ran | 2010 on Opportunity; routine on Curiosity since May 2016; on Perseverance from 2022 |
“uses the Rockster algorithm to detect rock targets in NavCam imagery and rank them against science-team priorities”
JPL Artificial Intelligence Group: the developer. AEGIS (Autonomous Exploration for Gathering Increased Science), JPL Artificial Intelligence Group. Published undated (no date on the page; its text mentions 2022). Read 4 Oct 2026, in part: about the first 1,700 of 8,900 characters.
“Since May 2016 it has been in routine use on the MSL Curiosity rover, selecting targets for the ChemCam laser-induced breakdown spectrometer”
JPL Artificial Intelligence Group: the developer. AEGIS (Autonomous Exploration for Gathering Increased Science), JPL Artificial Intelligence Group. Published undated (no date on the page; its text mentions 2022). Read 4 Oct 2026, in part: about the first 1,700 of 8,900 characters.
“In 2022, AEGIS was deployed on the Mars 2020 Perseverance rover, where it autonomously targets the SuperCam”
JPL Artificial Intelligence Group: the developer. AEGIS (Autonomous Exploration for Gathering Increased Science), JPL Artificial Intelligence Group. Published undated (no date on the page; its text mentions 2022). Read 4 Oct 2026, in part: about the first 1,700 of 8,900 characters.
“the first time autonomous target selection is available for an instrument of this kind on any robotic planetary mission”
NASA JPL: the developer. NASA Mars Rover Can Choose Laser Targets on Its Own, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Published 21 Jul 2016 (page metadata). Read 4 Oct 2026, in part: about the first 1,500 of 5,100 characters.
“AEGIS was first demonstrated on the MER rover Opportunity in 2010, where it selected targets for the Pancam imager”
JPL Artificial Intelligence Group: the developer. AEGIS (Autonomous Exploration for Gathering Increased Science), JPL Artificial Intelligence Group. Published undated (no date on the page; its text mentions 2022). Read 4 Oct 2026, in part: about the first 1,700 of 8,900 characters.
No launch mark is given: the claim is about software on rovers already on Mars, and no catalogue record applies.