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Lecture Notes in Control and Information Sciences 460

Eric Feron Editor

Advances in Control
System Technology
for Aerospace
Applications
Lecture Notes in Control and Information
Sciences

Volume 460

Series editors
Frank Allgöwer, Stuttgart, Germany
Manfred Morari, Zürich, Switzerland

Series Advisory Boards


P. Fleming, University of Sheffield, UK
P. Kokotovic, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, USA
A.B. Kurzhanski, Moscow State University, Russia
H. Kwakernaak, University of Twente, Enschede, The Netherlands
A. Rantzer, Lund Institute of Technology, Sweden
J.N. Tsitsiklis, MIT, Cambridge, MA, USA
About this Series

This series aims to report new developments in the fields of control and information
sciences—quickly, informally and at a high level. The type of material considered
for publication includes:
1. Preliminary drafts of monographs and advanced textbooks
2. Lectures on a new field, or presenting a new angle on a classical field
3. Research reports
4. Reports of meetings, provided they are
(a) of exceptional interest and
(b) devoted to a specific topic. The timeliness of subject material is very
important.

More information about this series at http://www.springer.com/series/642


Eric Feron
Editor

Advances in Control System


Technology for Aerospace
Applications

123
Editor
Eric Feron
School of Aerospace Engineering
Georgia Institute of Technology
Atlanta, GA
USA

ISSN 0170-8643 ISSN 1610-7411 (electronic)


Lecture Notes in Control and Information Sciences
ISBN 978-3-662-47693-2 ISBN 978-3-662-47694-9 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-3-662-47694-9

Library of Congress Control Number: 2015944442

Springer Heidelberg New York Dordrecht London


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Preface

On June 11 and 12, 2012, several engineers and researchers from industry and
academia met at the Georgia Institute of Technology to discuss the present and
future of aerospace decision and control. This workshop was hosted by the School
of Aerospace Engineering and the Decision and Control Laboratory. Featured in
this workshop were aircraft and spacecraft control and autonomy, air traffic control
and management, and embedded software verification and validation. From this
workshop came the five essays printed thereafter.
Whether focusing on aeronautical or space applications, the decision and control
sciences of today largely supersede the servomechanism theory that used to be, and
still is, taught in all aerospace undergraduate curricula. Yet, the concern for
mathematical rigor and safety present in even the most basic control course is the
fertile ground upon which new disciplines, such as autonomy, can develop with a
genuine concern for applicability to aerospace systems. In this volume, the reader
will find a broad variety of topics that all share highly dynamical, real-time, and
safety- or mission-critical decision-making as core elements.
When looking at the space adventure, the reader will see that autonomy is
becoming, de facto, the prime mechanism through which humanity can project its
mind and soul onto faraway, extraterrestrial destinations. In an increasingly tech-
nological world, the reader will, however, get some appreciation for the gap that
separates the extremely high promise of autonomy technology for aerial applica-
tions from our ability to understand it well enough to let it take over part of our
overhead traffic. Likewise, the reader will get an appreciation for the astonishing
range of control issues raised by air transportation, including optimal control,
queuing systems, and combinations of the above.
Professor Gary Balas understood, perhaps better than anyone else in the trade,
the vastly expanded scope that the decision and control sciences need to cover to
address the challenges that aerospace engineering faces today. He presided over the
fast transformation of the aerospace decision sciences by fostering a climate of
openness toward the new aerospace decision and control sciences, whether they are

v
vi Preface

named autonomy, software analysis, air traffic control, or human-centric systems,


within his own University of Minnesota and the Department of Aerospace
Engineering and Mechanics, which he led with enthusiasm and humor. This volume
is dedicated to his memory.

Atlanta Eric Feron


March 2015
Contents

1 Spacecraft Autonomy Challenges for Next-Generation


Space Missions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 1
Joseph A. Starek, Behçet Açıkmeşe, Issa A. Nesnas
and Marco Pavone
1.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 1
1.1.1 High-Level Challenges and High-Priority
Technologies for Space Autonomous Systems . . . . .. 3
1.2 Relative Guidance Algorithmic Challenges for Autonomous
Spacecraft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
1.2.1 Scope . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
1.2.2 Need . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
1.2.3 State of the Art. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
1.2.4 Challenges and Future Directions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
1.3 Extreme Mobility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
1.3.1 Scope . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
1.3.2 Need . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
1.3.3 State of the Art. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
1.3.4 Challenges and Future Directions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
1.4 Microgravity Mobility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
1.4.1 Scope . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
1.4.2 Need . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
1.4.3 State of the Art. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
1.4.4 Challenges and Future Directions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
1.5 Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
References. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

2 New Guidance, Navigation, and Control Technologies


for Formation Flying Spacecraft and Planetary Landing . . . . . . . 49
Fred Y. Hadaegh, Andrew E. Johnson, David S. Bayard,
Behçet Açıkmeşe, Soon-Jo Chung and Raman K. Mehra
2.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

vii
viii Contents

2.2 GN&C Technologies for Planetary Landing in Hazardous


Terrain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
2.2.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
2.2.2 Design Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
2.2.3 Case Study 1: Mars Robotic System . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
2.2.4 Case Study 2: Crewed Lunar System. . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
2.2.5 System Comparison . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
2.3 Phase Synchronization Control of Spacecraft Swarms . . . . . . . 58
2.3.1 Problem Statement—Controlling the Phase
Differences in Periodic Orbits. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 59
2.3.2 Phase Synchronization Control Law with Adaptive
Graphs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 61
2.3.3 Main Stability Theorems and Simulation Results . . .. 62
2.4 Application of Probabilistic Guidance to Swarms
of Spacecraft Operating in Earth Orbit. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
2.4.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
2.4.2 Probabilistic Guidance Problem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
2.4.3 Probabilistic Guidance Algorithm (PGA) . . . . . . . . . . 66
2.4.4 Adaptation of PGA to Earth Orbiting Swarms . . . . . . 68
2.5 Nonlinear State Estimation And Sensor Optimization
Problems for Detection of Space Collision Events. . . . . . . . .. 70
2.5.1 LEO Sensor Constellation Design and Collision
Event Testbed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
2.5.2 Satellite Collision Modeling and Estimation . . . . . . . . 73
2.6 Conclusion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
References. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78

3 Aircraft Autonomy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 81
Piero Miotto, Leena Singh, James D. Paduano, Andrew Clare,
Mary L. Cummings and Lesley A. Weitz
3.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 81
3.1.1 Challenges to the Safe Integration of UAVs
in the National Airspace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 83
3.1.2 Technical Enhancements for Safe Insertion
of UAVs in the NAS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 84
3.2 On-Board Air Autonomy Systems Needs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 86
3.2.1 Challenges to Integration of UAVs in the NAS . . . .. 86
3.2.2 Technical Enhancements for Improved In-Air
autonomy—Key Technologies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 87
3.2.3 Conclusions: A Road-Map to Address
the Technical Challenges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 89
3.3 Human-Automation Collaboration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 92
3.3.1 Challenges in the Collaborative Human-Automation
Scheduling Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 92
Contents ix

3.3.2 Candidate Methods in Human-Automation


Collaborative Scheduling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... 94
3.3.3 Technical Enhancements needed for Humans
Interactions with Scheduling Algorithms . . . . . . . ... 95
3.3.4 Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... 97
3.4 Autonomy Evolution for Air Traffic Control . . . . . . . . . . ... 98
3.4.1 Challenges and Limitations of Current Air Traffic
Management System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... 99
3.4.2 Enhancements Made Within ATC System . . . . . . ... 99
3.4.3 Technical Enhancements needed in the Evolution
of Airborne and Ground-Based Technologies . . . . ... 101
3.4.4 Conclusions and Proposed Road-Map . . . . . . . . . ... 103
References. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... 104

4 Challenges in Aerospace Decision and Control:


Air Transportation Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 109
Hamsa Balakrishnan, John-Paul Clarke, Eric M. Feron,
R. John Hansman and Hernando Jimenez
4.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 109
4.2 Key NextGen Topics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 110
4.3 Supporting Technology Research Challenges . . . . . . . . . . . .. 111
4.3.1 Design of Automation with Graceful
Degradation Modes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 112
4.3.2 System Verification and Validation (V&V) . . . . . . .. 112
4.3.3 Large-Scale, Real-Time Optimization Algorithms . . .. 113
4.3.4 Multi-Objective, Multi-Stakeholder, Optimization
Frameworks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
4.4 Domain-Specific Research Challenges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
4.4.1 Airport Arrival Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
4.4.2 Airport Departure Processes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
4.4.3 The Trip is Not Over: Passenger Management
in the Terminals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 120
4.4.4 Domain-Specific Contributions: Abstract Modeling
Approaches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 123
References. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 132

5 From Design to Implementation: An Automated,


Credible Autocoding Chain for Control Systems . . . . . . . . ..... 137
Timothy Wang, Romain Jobredeaux, Heber Herencia,
Pierre-Loïc Garoche, Arnaud Dieumegard, Éric Feron
and Marc Pantel
5.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..... 137
5.2 Credible Autocoding Framework . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..... 139
5.2.1 Input and Output Languages of the Framework ..... 141
x Contents

5.3 Control Semantics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142


5.3.1 Control System Stability and Boundedness. . . . . . . . . 143
5.3.2 Prototype Tool-Chain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
5.3.3 Control Semantics in Simulink and Gene-Auto . . . . . . 144
5.3.4 Annotation Blocks and Behaviors in the Model . . . . . 146
5.3.5 Closed-Loop Stability with Bounded Input. . . . . . . . . 147
5.3.6 Expressing the Observer-Based Fault-Detection
Semantics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
5.3.7 Control Semantics at the Level of the C Code . . . . . . 149
5.3.8 Closed Loop Semantics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150
5.3.9 Control Semantics in PVS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
5.4 Autocoding with Control Semantics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
5.5 Building the Input Model. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
5.6 Basics of Program Verification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
5.6.1 Hoare Logic and Deductive Verification . . . . . . . . . . 156
5.6.2 Predicate Transformers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
5.6.3 Strongest Post-condition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
5.7 Translation Process for a Simple Dynamical System . . . . . . . . 159
5.8 Gene-Auto+: A Prototype Credible Autocoder . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
5.8.1 Gene-Auto: Translation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
5.8.2 Translation of Annotative Blocks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162
5.9 Translation and Insertion of the System Block . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164
5.10 Translation of the Quadratic Blocks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
5.10.1 Types of Quadratic Blocks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
5.10.2 Insertion of Ellipsoid Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
5.11 Computing the Strongest Post-condition. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
5.11.1 Affine Transformation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168
5.11.2 S-Procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
5.11.3 Verification of the Strongest Post-condition . . . . . . . . 172
5.12 Automatic Verification of Control Semantics . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172
5.12.1 From C Code to PVS Theorems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173
5.12.2 Theory Interpretation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
5.12.3 Generically Discharging the Proofs in PVS . . . . . . . . 176
5.12.4 The pvs-ellipsoid Plugin to Frama-C . . . . . . . . 177
5.12.5 Checking Inclusion of the Propagated Ellipsoid . . . . . 177
5.13 Related Works . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178
5.14 Conclusion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178
References. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179
Contributors

Behçet Açıkmeşe Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology,


Pasadena, California; University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
Hamsa Balakrishnan Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA,
USA
David S. Bayard Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology,
Pasadena, California
Soon-Jo Chung University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, USA
Andrew Clare Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
John-Paul Clarke Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA
Mary L. Cummings Duke University MEMS, Durham, USA
Arnaud Dieumegard ENSEEIHT, Toulouse, France
Eric M. Feron Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA
Pierre-Loïc Garoche ONERA—The French Aerospace Lab, Toulouse, France
Fred Y. Hadaegh Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology,
Pasadena, California
R. John Hansman Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
Heber Herencia General Electric Global Research, Clifton Park, NY, USA
Hernando Jimenez Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA
Romain Jobredeaux Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA
Andrew E. Johnson Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of
Technology, Pasadena, California
Raman K. Mehra Scientific Systems Company, Inc., Woburn, MA, USA

xi
xii Contributors

Piero Miotto Draper Laboratory, Cambridge, MA, USA


Issa A. Nesnas Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, USA
James D. Paduano Aurora Flight Sciences, Cambridge, MA, USA
Marc Pantel ENSEEIHT, Toulouse, France
Marco Pavone Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA, USA
Leena Singh Draper Laboratory, Cambridge, MA, USA
Joseph A. Starek Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA, USA
Timothy Wang Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA
Lesley A. Weitz Mitre Corporation CAASD, New Jersey, USA
Chapter 1
Spacecraft Autonomy Challenges
for Next-Generation Space Missions

Joseph A. Starek, Behçet Açıkmeşe, Issa A. Nesnas and Marco Pavone

1.1 Introduction

In early 2011, in an effort to streamline future resource allocation and refine its
plans, NASA’s Office of the Chief Technologist (OCT) released a set of technology
roadmaps with the aim of fostering the development of concepts and cross-cutting
technologies addressing NASA’s needs for the 2011–2021 decade and beyond [101,
103]. This set was organized into 14 technology areas (TA01 through TA14), divided
into a total of 64 technology subareas. In an attempt to engage the external techni-
cal community and enhance the development program in light of scarce resources,
NASA reached out to the National Research Council (NRC) to review the program’s
objectives and prioritize its list of technologies. In January 2012, the NRC released
its report entitled “Restoring NASA’s Technological Edge and Paving the Way for
a New Era in Space,” which reviewed an initial 320 technologies [48]. The NRC
report revolved around three technology objectives:

J.A. Starek · M. Pavone (B)


Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA, USA
e-mail: pavone@stanford.edu
J.A. Starek
e-mail: jstarek@stanford.edu
B. Açıkmeşe
University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
e-mail: behcet@austin.utexas.edu
I.A. Nesnas
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, USA
e-mail: nesnas@jpl.nasa.gov

© Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2016 1


E. Feron (ed.), Advances in Control System Technology
for Aerospace Applications, Lecture Notes in Control
and Information Sciences 460, DOI 10.1007/978-3-662-47694-9_1
2 J.A. Starek et al.

• Technology Objective A: Extend and sustain human activities beyond low Earth
orbit. Invest in technologies to enable humans to travel throughout the solar system,
including surviving longer space voyages, arriving and working effectively at
specific extraterrestrial destinations, and finally returning to Earth safely;
• Technology Objective B: Explore the evolution of the solar system and the poten-
tial for life elsewhere (in situ measurements). Investigate technologies that enable
humans and robots to perform in situ measurements on other planetary bodies as
well as on Earth analogues (i.e. astrobiology);
• Technology Objective C: Expand understanding of Earth and the universe
(remote measurements). Develop technologies for capturing remote measurements
from platforms that orbit or fly-by Earth and other planetary bodies, and from other
in-space and ground-based observatories.

In its study, the NRC defined evaluation criteria that included assessments of tech-
nological benefit, alignment with NASA, non-NASA aerospace, and non-aerospace
national needs, technical risk and reasonableness, sequencing and timing (factoring
in requisite technologies), and development time and effort required to achieve each
goal. By the final ranking, the NRC had whittled the selection to a group of 16 top
priorities for technology.
While the NRC report provides a systematic and thorough ranking of the future
technology needs for NASA, it does not discuss in detail the technical aspects of
the prioritized technologies (which is clearly beyond the scope of the report). This
chapter, building upon the NRC report and an earlier assessment of NASA’s needs
in terms of guidance, navigation, and control technologies [14], aims at provid-
ing such technical details for a selected number of high-priority technologies in the
autonomous systems area. Specifically, this chapter focuses on technology area TA04
“Robotics, Tele-Robotics, and Autonomous Systems” and discusses in some detail
the technical aspects and challenges associated with three high-priority TA04 tech-
nologies: “Relative Guidance Algorithms,” “Extreme Terrain Mobility,” and “Small
Body/Microgravity Mobility.”
This chapter is structured as follows. The rest of this section provides a high-level
description of the high-priority technologies for TA04. Then, Sects. 1.2–1.4 focus,
respectively, on technical discussions of “Relative Guidance Algorithms,” “Extreme
Terrain Mobility,” and “Small Body/Microgravity Mobility,” each categorized as top
priorities of TA04 and which represent the key areas of expertise of the authors.
Finally, Sect. 1.5 draws conclusions with a summary of the technical challenges
facing the engineering community and the unsolved technical areas that must be
addressed to help NASA meet its vision. Each technology section follows the same
structure: Scope, Need, State of the Art, and Challenges and Future Directions.
1 Spacecraft Autonomy Challenges for Next-Generation Space Missions 3

1.1.1 High-Level Challenges and High-Priority Technologies


for Space Autonomous Systems

While the guidance, navigation and control of spacecraft has resulted in numerous
successful space missions, its use in fully autonomous operations has thus far been
limited, with mission planners often opting for ground-in-the-loop interventions for
maneuver refinements and corrections, wherever possible. Where ground-in-the-
loop control is not feasible, as in the cases of rendezvous about other planets or
atmospheric entry, descent and landing for instance, autonomous operations are often
restricted to minimal scope in order to minimize the impact of a very costly validation
and verification process. In spite of numerous autonomous operation successes, a
number of anomalies have occurred during shuttle operations [57] and other recent
autonomous demonstration missions, e.g. [20, 38, 65, 77], that point to the need
for development and maturation in this area. This serves to illustrate the degree of
difficulty of autonomous navigation and control in space applications and on a broad
scale the significant challenges that must be overcome in aerospace engineering.
NASA has repeatedly identified robotic, autonomous, and sensing systems as
enabling technologies over its history, spanning as far back as the Gemini program
in the 1960s [108]. For spaceflight, many valuable proposed technologies, including
real-time autonomous decision-making, opportunistic science, and human-robotic
cooperation, are being investigated but have not yet been flight-tested. Analogously,
for roving applications, the capability does not yet exist for traversing extreme lunar,
Martian, or dusty terrains, including polar cold traps, high-grade surfaces, and micro-
gravity environments [9]. The advancement of robotics and autonomous systems will
be central to the transition of space missions from current ground-in-the-loop (geo-
centric) architectures to self-sustainable, independent systems, a key step necessary
for outer-planet exploration and for overcoming the many difficulties of interplane-
tary travel [123]. Drawing similar conclusions in their technological report, the NRC
highlighted TA04 “Robotics, Tele-Robotics, and Autonomous Systems” specifically
as a high-priority technology area, recognizing its importance in broadening access
to space and expanding humanity’s presence in the solar system.
The roadmap for TA04 was broken into seven technology subareas: sensing
and perception; mobility; manipulation; human-systems integration; autonomy;
autonomous rendezvous and docking (AR&D); and robotics, tele-robotics, and
autonomous systems engineering. Within this context, the NRC identified the fol-
lowing six top challenges for robotics and autonomous systems (quoted from [48]):
• Rendezvous: develop the capability for highly reliable, autonomous rendezvous,
proximity operations, and capture/attachment to (cooperative and non-cooperative)
free-flying space objects;
• Maneuvering: enable robotic systems to maneuver in a wide range of NASA-
relevant environmental, gravitational, and surface and subsurface conditions;
4 J.A. Starek et al.

• In Situ Analysis and Sample Return: develop subsurface sampling and analysis
exploration technologies to support in situ and sample return science missions;
• Hazard Avoidance: develop the capabilities to enable mobile robotic systems to
autonomously and verifiably navigate and avoid hazards;
• Time-Delayed Human-Robotic Interactions: achieve more effective and safe
human interaction with robotic systems (whether in proximity or remotely) that
accommodates time-delay effects;
• Object Recognition and Manipulation: develop means for object recognition
and dexterous manipulation that support engineering and science objectives.
This list is consistent with the recommendations of NASA’s previous Vision for
Space Exploration [92], the recommendations referenced for NASA Automated Ren-
dezvous and Capture operations [108], the lessons learned from Apollo Guidance
Navigation and Control (GN&C) [84], and the technology priorities described for
the future of rovers [9].
In light of these six challenges, and of the general technology objectives pre-
sented at the beginning of this section, eight specific high-priority technologies were
identified in the TA04 Roadmap:
• Technology 4.2.1, Extreme Terrain Mobility.
• Technology 4.2.4, Small Body/Microgravity Mobility.
• Technology 4.3.2, Dexterous Manipulation.
• Technology 4.3.6, Robotic Drilling and Sample Processing.
• Technology 4.4.2, Supervisory Control.
• Technology 4.5.1, Vehicle Systems Management and Fault Detection Isolation
and Recovery (FDIR).
• Technology 4.6.2, Relative Guidance Algorithms.
• Technology 4.6.3, Docking and Capture Mechanisms/Interfaces.
Technology advances in these areas will help towards accomplishing Technology
Objectives A, B, and C by improving access to space, increasing available mass-to-
surface, and enhancing robotic maneuvering capabilities, autonomous rendezvous
and docking, and precision landing, all of which were labeled top engineering road-
blocks that must be overcome to meet NASA’s goals.
The remainder of this chapter is devoted to clarifying precisely what needs to
be addressed for the three specific subcategories “Relative Guidance Algorithms,”
“Extreme Terrain Mobility,” and “Small Body/Microgravity Mobility,” according to
the best knowledge and expert opinions of the authors. The benefits, current state of
the art techniques, and technical aspects and challenges of each are discussed in detail
to better prepare the technical community for delivering on these advancements and
meeting the needs of next-generation space missions.
1 Spacecraft Autonomy Challenges for Next-Generation Space Missions 5

1.2 Relative Guidance Algorithmic Challenges


for Autonomous Spacecraft

Relative guidance algorithms were categorized by the NRC as the top-ranked technol-
ogy for robotics, tele-robotics, and autonomous systems; their improvement would
mark a tremendous milestone for robustifying and augmenting current capabilities
in autonomous guidance and control.

1.2.1 Scope

Guidance is the process of real-time planning of spacecraft state trajectories in both


translational and rotational motion. This involves computing desired sets of transla-
tional and rotational states and corresponding control forces and torques as a function
of time. Control, or more specifically feedback control, is responsible for following
these trajectories based on real-time state updates in the presence of disturbances,
measurement noise, and model uncertainties. Together they are referred to as Guid-
ance, Navigation, and Control (GN&C, or just G&C). This section addresses the
technical details and challenges for relative guidance of autonomous spacecraft in
four key space-based areas:

• Planetary Entry, Descent, and Landing (EDL)


• Proximity Operations for Primitive Bodies
• Autonomous Rendezvous and Docking (AR&D)
• Autonomous Inspection and Servicing (AIS)

In each of these applications, the guidance problem can be posed as an optimal


control problem with dynamics describing the motion of the spacecraft as well as
constraints on the vehicle state and controls. This can be expressed generically as
follows:

Problem G&C: Generic Autonomous Spacecraft Guidance Optimal Control


Problem
 tf
min J (x(t), u(t), t) = K (x(t f ), t f ) + L(x(t), u(t), t) dt
t f ,u t0
subject to ẋ(t) = f (x(t), u(t), t)
u(t) ∈ U (t)
x(t) ∈ X (t), for all t ∈ [t0 , t f ]

where x ∈ Rn is the state of the spacecraft, u ∈ Rm is the control input, t ∈ R


is time, J : Rn+m+1 → R is the cost-functional (which combines terminal and
incremental additive cost functions K and L), f : Rn+m+1 → Rn defines the
6 J.A. Starek et al.

dynamics, and U : R → Rm and X : R → Rn are set-valued maps defining


spacecraft control and state constraints. Due to the existence of system dynamics
and constraints, the resulting optimal control problem must be solved numerically
[15, 45] via an optimization algorithm after a proper discretization [66, 128]. To meet
the guidance challenges of next-generation space missions, onboard algorithms will
need to meet the following specifications:
• Real-time implementability: Algorithms must be implemented and executed on
real-time processors in a reasonable amount of time.
• Optimality: Given that feasible solutions exist, an optimal solution x ∗ (t) that
minimizes (at least approximately) the cost function J is desired.
• Verifiability: There must be design metrics that accurately describe the perfor-
mance and robustness of GN&C algorithms, with accompanying methods for
verifying these metrics.

1.2.2 Need

Autonomous spacecraft maneuvering, especially in proximity of artificial objects


(e.g. satellites, debris, etc.) or solar system bodies (e.g. asteroids, comets, irregular
satellites, etc.), is a key enabler for the majority of future NASA missions [48, 101].
In some cases this arises from obvious physical mission constraints, notably signal
transmission delays to and from Earth. A very good example is Mars atmospheric
Entry, Descent, and Landing (EDL), arguably one of the most tightly-constrained
control sequences in modern spaceflight, which prohibits human intervention due to
a nearly 26 minute two-way signal communication time that far exceeds the typical
seven-minute descent duration. Similarly, close proximity operations around small
bodies, many of which travel beyond the extent of Mars orbit, require autonomous
guidance for the same reason. In other instances, the need for autonomy derives from
a desire to increase mission frequency, robustness, and reliability. This includes Low
Earth Orbit missions, such as Autonomous Rendezvous and Docking (AR&D) and
Autonomous Inspection and Servicing (AIS). As space access improves through
commercialization, the increased scheduling conflicts and labor overhead associated
with ground-in-the-loop spacecraft guidance are expected to become prohibitively
expensive. The risk of human error will increase as well. Spacecraft autonomy can
circumvent these issues, as well as enable greater mission variety and improve the
commercial and scientific return from space.

1.2.3 State of the Art

Current state-of-the-art techniques for autonomous spacecraft maneuvering include


Apollo guidance (particularly phase-plane logic, glideslope, and sliding-mode con-
trollers), Model Predictive Control (MPC) [2, 17, 27, 99, 104], and Artificial
1 Spacecraft Autonomy Challenges for Next-Generation Space Missions 7

Potential Functions (APFs) [7, 16, 87]. Unfortunately, such techniques, while
valuable in static uncluttered settings, appear to fall short in scenarios where time-
varying constraints (such as neighboring debris or other spacecraft), logical modes
(e.g., safety modes), and complex maneuvering (e.g., terrain sampling or manipu-
lation) become key features of the problem setup. In these cases, robotic motion
planning techniques, though currently unproven in spaceflight, could provide a valu-
able alternative [81, 118]; they are hence discussed here as well. Brief synopses
of each these methods are presented in Sects. 1.2.3.1–1.2.3.4 below, together with
highlights of recent autonomous demonstration missions in Sect. 1.2.3.5.

1.2.3.1 Apollo Guidance

The COLOSSUS Program, developed by MIT for NASA’s Apollo Program, called
upon three Digital AutoPilot (DAP) systems to stabilize and control the Apollo Com-
mand Service Module (CSM) as part of its Primary Guidance Navigation and Con-
trol System (PGNCS) [132]. The techniques used, now considered part of classical
control, formed one of the earliest successful deployments of spacecraft autonomy.
Block-diagram schematics of the Apollo CSM control logic can be seen in Fig. 1.1.
These Digital AutoPilot systems are each briefly described to provide context for
more modern control techniques:
• Orbital Re-entry Digital Autopilot (ENTRY DAP): assumed control of the Com-
mand Module (CM) after separation from the Service Module (SM) and handled
all Command Module flight maneuvers beginning with reorientation into Entry

Fig. 1.1 Illustrations of one of the earliest successful spacecraft autonomous control systems for
the NASA Apollo Command Service Module (CSM). a Block diagram logic used by Reaction
Control System thrusters to control CSM attitude. Here θd represents the reference attitude angle,
θe the attitude error, β an attitude bias, ω the attitude rate, and ω̂ the attitude rate estimate. b Phase-
plane logic schematic. For double-integrator models, this design can be shown to drive the rate and
attitude errors plotted on the x- and y-axes to the box-like area near the origin. The logic works by
breaking the plane into disjoint zones, inside of which the spacecraft is pre-programmed to torque
positively or negatively (solid white areas) or coast (shaded region); horizontal lines represent zero-
acceleration trajectories or “coasting arcs,” while parabolas represent lines of constant acceleration.
Images courtesy of [132]
8 J.A. Starek et al.

attitude up until drogue chute deployment. The autopilot called pairs of thrusters
distributed along the rim of the base of the Command Module, as well as an addi-
tional pair near the tip for pitch-down control. The first phase of operation marked
exoatmospheric mode, using various combinations of rate damping, attitude-hold,
and attitude-control depending on the pitch angle value. Phase-plane logic con-
trollers1 (attitude rate versus attitude error) with biased deadzones drove the system
to desired error tolerances. Once drag rose above 0.05 g, atmospheric mode was
initiated. In this regime, roll control was maintained using a complex phase plane
incorporating a straight control line, maximum velocity boundaries, and constant-
acceleration switching lines, while yaw and pitch reverted to rate-damping using
a yaw rate versus roll rate phase plane logic and a simple relay with deadband,
respectively. The purpose of ENTRY DAP was to maintain the component of lift
in the trajectory plane needed to target a desired landing site given the vehicle’s
current position and velocity.
• Reaction-Control System Digital Autopilot (RCS DAP): Responsible for con-
trolling the attitude and attitude rates of the Command Service Module during
coasting flight, both with or without the Lunar Module (LM) stage attached. The
Digital AutoPilot employed for pitch, yaw, and roll control four clusters, called
quads, of four Reaction-Control System thrusters each, using a phase-plane logic
controller with nonlinear switching lines, a central deadband, and built-in hys-
teresis. The timing and firing commands of individual thrusters were issued by a
thruster-selection logic responsible for resolving Digital AutoPilot rotation com-
mands with translation commands and executing them as economically as possi-
ble according to the distribution of functional thrusters available. A second-order
angular-rate Kalman filter was used to compute estimates of angular velocity by
weighted sum of (1) extrapolated values of previous estimates and (2) derivations
from gimbal angle measurements.
• Thrust-Vector-Control Digital Autopilot (TVC DAP): Used to control the Com-
mand Service Module during powered flight, both with or without the Lunar Mod-
ule attached. Pitch and yaw were adjusted by actuating the gimbal servos of the
main engine, while a separate autopilot called TVC ROLL DAP controlled the
Command Service Module attitude and rate about the roll axis during powered
flight via the Reaction-Control System thruster quads. TVC DAP fed estimates of
attitude rate and angle errors to pitch and yaw compensation filters, with various
combinations of attenuation and phase stabilization depending on the configura-
tion of the Command Service Module due to the changes in overall center-of-mass
position, bending modes, and fuel slosh instabilities. TVC ROLL DAP used an

1 Phase-plane controllers are typically used to determine stabilizing on-off control inputs for one
degree-of-freedom differential systems by defining a coordinate plane of two state variables (typi-
cally a state error and its corresponding state rate error) and a set of switching curves with accom-
panying “deadband,” “hysteresis,” etc. in such a way as to partition the space into disjoint control
regions that drive the system to within certain limits of the coordinate plane origin. Figure 1.1 shows
a schematic of the phase-planes used by the Apollo missions.
1 Spacecraft Autonomy Challenges for Next-Generation Space Missions 9

adaptation to the phase-plane switching logic of RCS DAP in free flight, modified
with ideal parabolic switching curves for roll axis attitude-hold within a small
tolerance. A number of logical constraints were additionally enacted in order to
conserve fuel and minimize the risk of thruster failures.

1.2.3.2 Model Predictive Control

Model predictive control (MPC) is a feedback law based on the repeated solution of an
optimal control problem (i.e. Problem G&C) that uses an assumed dynamics model f
and the current state set as the initial condition. This problem is solved to yield a finite-
horizon control trajectory that optimizes the predicted state response over the duration
of a planning period or time horizon. Once solved, however, only the initial control
segment is actually applied, after which the problem is reinitialized and the process
repeats until convergence to the goal. This characteristic renewal procedure over a
repeatedly updated horizon is what gives MPC its other common names: receding
horizon optimal control or moving horizon optimal control. This concept allows
one to design a feedback controller on the basis of nearly any open-loop optimal
control approach, improving its robustness and imparting it the ability to handle
disturbances and mitigate error growth. Even without prior disturbance modeling,
one can demonstrate under appropriate assumptions that MPC can lead to closed-loop
stability and state convergence to the target [86]. Other advantages of MPC include
the ability to handle pointwise-in-time state and control constraints, the capability
to withstand time delays, and reconfiguration in the presence of degradations and
failure modes [25, 26]. As the robustness properties of MPC are contingent on fast
resolvability, open-loop controllers for vehicle guidance for the most part must be
restricted to convex optimization routines. Another common choice for use with MPC
schemes in autonomous spacecraft guidance is Mixed-Integer Linear Programming
(MILP) [22, 110], which are essentially solvers for linear optimization problems
with embedded discrete variables to handle simple logical constraints such as mode
switching and collision-avoidance.

1.2.3.3 Artificial Potential Functions

The artificial potential function (APF) method [7, 16, 87] transforms the guidance
problem into particle motion within a potential field. Attractive potentials are used
for goal regions, while repulsive potentials are used for obstacles—the value of occu-
pying a particular state is then represented by the sum of individual terms. A gradient
ascent/descent routine is often called to trace a feasible path from any initial state,
which, when tuned appropriately, will safely circumnavigate neighboring obstacles
and converge to a goal. Alternatively, an optimal control problem may be formed to
plan a path that minimizes the path integral along the gradient force field (analogous
to minimum-work in physical systems). The approach benefits greatly from the abil-
ity to react in real-time to environmental changes through adjustments in individual
10 J.A. Starek et al.

potential functions. Some difficulty lies in adjusting each function such that the
spacecraft behaves as desired (i.e. ensuring sufficient margin from obstacles, rapid
convergence, etc.). However, the main drawback of APFs is their well-known sus-
ceptibility to converge to local minima, which cannot be avoided without additional
heuristic techniques. This tendency can be mitigated by attempting random walks
out of local wells, or instead relying on a global optimization routine for open-loop
control, with an artificial potential function method called for closed-loop feedback
(i.e. trajectory-following, bubble methods [109], or real-time path modification [23],
for instance).

1.2.3.4 Spacecraft Motion Planning

Motion planning constitutes a class of algorithms used to generate sequences of deci-


sions, called plans, that safely navigate robots from given initial states to a set of
target states called goals. The framework is sufficiently general that it applies equally
well to spacecraft and rovers as it does to traditional robots [80]. Motion planning
techniques can be classified into two categories: exact (combinatorial) algorithms
and approximate (sampling-based) algorithms. Exact approaches develop a strategy
based on an explicit representation of the unsafe region of the state space, which
allows them to guarantee a solution if one exists. Techniques typically involve the
formation of roadmaps, which are topological graphs that efficiently capture the con-
nectivity of points in the obstacle-free state space. Exact algorithms are often limited
to problems of low-dimensionality, polygonally-shaped obstacles, and static envi-
ronments. Sampling-based algorithms, on the other hand, forgo explicit construction
of the unsafe state space and instead explore pathways via a sampling procedure, with
safety verified by a “black-box” collision-detection routine. In many ways this idea
is computationally advantageous; however, it has the obvious drawback that weaker
notions of correctness and completeness must be tolerated—existence of solutions
cannot be guaranteed in finite time without drawing an infinite set of samples. Promi-
nent examples of sampling-based algorithms include Probabilistic Roadmaps (PRM)
[76], the family of Rapidly-Exploring Random Tree (RRT) algorithms [80, 81], and
Fast Marching Trees (FMT∗ ) [68] together with its kinodynamic versions [115, 116].
Sampling-based motion planning algorithms such as these have been shown under
mild conditions to quickly and uniformly explore the collision-free state space. Some
of them (e.g., RRT∗ [75] and FMT∗ [68]) have the added benefit of asymptotic opti-
mality; that is, they guarantee convergence to an optimal solution as the number of
samples goes to infinity.

1.2.3.5 Recent Demonstration Missions

A handful of autonomous maneuvering missions have demonstrated at least a few


of these state-of-the-art methods (combined with digital logic). Prominent examples
include JAXA’s ETS-VII [77, 102], AFRL’s XSS-10 [38], DARPA’s Orbital Express
1 Spacecraft Autonomy Challenges for Next-Generation Space Missions 11

[65], NASA’s DART [111], and JAXA’s Hayabusa [51, 135]. Sadly, notable guid-
ance and control anomalies and mishaps occurred during the latter three missions,
in some cases spelling their end [20, 77, 135]. The DART spacecraft, for instance,
began using much more propellant than expected during proximity operations and
initiated a series of maneuvers for departure and retirement, but eventually collided
with the MULBCOM satellite [20]. This suggests that presently autonomous space-
craft navigation and maneuvering, even in static environments with well-understood
dynamics, is still in its technological infancy [22, 48].

1.2.4 Challenges and Future Directions

Many technical hurdles remain to be solved before autonomous spacecraft relative


guidance can become a mature technology. This section begins in Sect. 1.2.4.1 with
a summary of the most important relative guidance challenges concerning general
spaceflight, from which the discussion is specialized to two key areas: Planetary
Entry, Descent, and Landing (EDL) in Sect. 1.2.4.2, and Proximity Operations in
Sect. 1.2.4.3, a blanket term that encompasses Autonomous Rendezvous and Docking
(AR&D), Autonomous Inspection and Servicing (AIS), and close-range operations
about primitive bodies.

1.2.4.1 General Relative Guidance Challenges

The main guidance challenge for next-generation autonomous spacecraft is to solve


the guidance and control problem (Problem G&C) with the appropriate dynamics
and constraints onboard and in real-time. This onboard capability will enable the
execution of missions with a much higher level of autonomy, ultimately prolonging
mission times, increasing mission frequencies, decreasing costs, and returning more
scientific data. Furthermore, it will allow the spacecraft designer to fully utilize the
performance envelope, thereby maximizing achievable performance.
The most important technical challenges to meet this ambitious goal are:
• Implementability: Developing robust, real-time implementable, and verifiable
onboard optimization algorithms for the solution of Problem G&C;
• Verifiability: Developing design metrics and verification and validation methods
for real-time optimization-based guidance and control algorithms;
• Formation Flight: Extending guidance techniques to multiple collaborative
vehicles;
• Testing: Demonstrating next-generation autonomous algorithms in representative
flight testing.
Meeting these challenges will require development of new mathematical formula-
tions and algorithms for robust, real-time implementation and for ground analysis.
For example, if one can express Problem G&C as a convex optimization problem for
12 J.A. Starek et al.

a given application, then one can employ Interior Point Method algorithms (IPMs)
to achieve globally-optimal solutions [21, 98], as well as improve runtime execution
speeds by 2–3 orders of magnitude [85]. This clearly motivates the use of real-
time convex optimization for relative guidance whenever possible, either in the ideal
case through lossless convexification (as in [58], for example) or through reasonable
convex approximations, particularly for complex, difficult, or hazardous problems
where the important need is a reasonably-good feasible solution obeying all mission
constraints.
Verifiability of solution methods is also another interesting and important chal-
lenge. In classical linear feedback control, one has prescribed design metrics such
as phase and gain margin specifications that serve as useful targets in the design of
feedback controllers. It is relatively straightforward to check whether these require-
ments are satisfied at design time. In the case of more complex guidance algorithms,
on the other hand, such general metrics do not exist. A good example can be given in
the context of Mars precision landing, for which the trajectory designer must direct a
vehicle from any initial state at the end of the parachute phase to a target on the Mars
surface with zero velocity. Suppose the expected set of initial conditions at the start
of powered descent is Ipd . Define Ic as the set of all initial conditions from which
the lander can reach the target, assuming fixed control parameters such as propellant
mass fraction, thrust-to-weight ratio, fuel consumption rate, etc. Then verification
simply requires checking whether the following set inclusion relationship holds:

Ipd ⊆ Ic .

The next question is how to generate Ic for a given set of design parameters. Exact
approaches devised for discrete systems conduct systematic searches through a finite
state-space, collecting information about reachable sets and the properties of the
states traversed [33, 136]. However, due to the exponential growth in state-space
size with dimension, this is infeasible for continuous or high-dimensional systems.
In such instances, one must resort to approximate techniques, collectively called
reachability analysis, for computing the set Ic . Clearly one approach is exhaustive
search of sample points in the set; however, this is very time consuming and not
usable at design time. Many efficient alternatives have been developed, however,
including (1) optimal control and Lyapunov-based theory [53], (2) state abstraction,
in which state-space size is reduced by grouping states together through omission of
less useful details [82], (3) propagation of conservative over-approximations to the
true sets [120], and (4) convexification of Problem G&C through exploitation of the
problem structure.
The next challenge is to extend guidance techniques to multiple collaborative
vehicles. This complicates problem formulation and solution methods, rendering
complex problems even more so when real-time solutions are demanded. The diffi-
culty lies in the coupling between the safety of each vehicle to the future trajectories
of all of its neighbors. This is often resolved in the literature by forming a hierarchy
in planning, in which one vehicle neglects its neighbors and develops a plan, the
second then develops a plan assuming the first’s path is fixed, the third designs a path
1 Spacecraft Autonomy Challenges for Next-Generation Space Missions 13

under the consideration of the first and second, and so on. However, this technique
makes the key assumption that all current and future state information of each vehi-
cle is freely communicable to all other vehicles. As this illustrates, multiple vehicle
collaboration and guidance entails the need for communication and scheduling. This
generates the question of which control architecture, or rather communication archi-
tecture, is most suitable to the application. Control architectures vary from either fully
individualized control called distributed control, or fully dependent control called
centralized control, in which one vehicle or mothership determines the plans for all
other vehicles. A number of methods have been developed to handle multiple space-
craft guidance, including specialized formation or coordination controllers (e.g. [13,
127]), passive/active relative orbit formulations (e.g. Clohessy-Wiltshire-Hill equa-
tions, halo orbits about libration points) [5, 55], optimal formation reconfigurations
[113], rigid body or quasi-rigid body rotation planning [19], potential-based meth-
ods [31] and behavioral planning [67]. Much of the literature focuses on simple
formation flight architectures, such as leader-follower formations. Formation flight
and collaborative decision-making remain highly active areas of research.
In summary, the key for autonomous relative guidance is having robust solution
techniques that can be made efficient for real-time implementation. Though some of
these techniques may not be implementable on current space-qualified flight com-
puters, the natural increase in onboard computational power and the use of multiple
processors with algorithm parallelization could enable their use in the not-too-distant
future. Therefore, priority in research must first be to develop robust solution methods
for the right problems with appropriate constraints. Subsequently, these algorithms
should be customized for flight implementation. Finally, a rigorous process (prefer-
ably combined with flight testing) should be established for solution verification and
validation.
The following Sects. 1.2.4.2–1.2.4.3 specialize the general challenges of this sub-
section to planetary EDL and proximity operations, each illustrating the types of
difficult, mission-critical control maneuvers that typically lie at the cutting edge of
modern spacecraft autonomy research.

1.2.4.2 Challenges for Planetary Entry, Descent, and Landing

This section focuses on the GN&C challenges associated with planetary missions,
first highlighting the difficulties of Mars and Moon landings before extending to
other planetary bodies.
The main purpose of any planetary landing GN&C system is to execute a con-
trolled deceleration from orbital or interplanetary velocities to near-rest conditions.
For a typical Mars EDL mission, this begins with an entry phase (see Fig. 1.2) that
cancels most of the planetary relative velocity. Once slowed to supersonic speeds, a
parachute is deployed. Then at a prescribed altitude (e.g. approx. 2 km for the Mars
Science Laboratory (MSL)), the parachute is discarded and the Powered Descent
(PD) phase is initiated. At this point, passive descent during the parachute phase
coupled with atmospheric density and weather uncertainties cause the predicted
14 J.A. Starek et al.

Entry Phase

Parachute Phase

Error accumulated during


entry and parachute phases
State of the lander at the start of PD
phase cannot be predetermined:
Autonomous guidance is needed
for the corrective divert
Powered Descent (PD) Phase

Optimal Large Divert


Divert with
Apollo algorithms
Landing Landing
error location

Fig. 1.2 Optimal Powered Descent Guidance (PDG) will enable planetary precision landing.
These algorithms search over all physically possible diverts to find a fuel optimal one, significantly
improving divert capability over current state-of-the-art onboard algorithms

positions and velocities relative to the target to disperse significantly (e.g. on the
order of 8–10 km with a velocity trigger (used during the MSL mission) or 5–6 km
with a range trigger at the start of the parachute phase [130]). To achieve preci-
sion landing (roughly 1 km of position error or less at touchdown), an autonomous,
real-time Powered Descent Guidance (PDG) algorithm is required to continuously
redirect the vehicle towards the surface target. In manned missions, the challenges
are magnified and still largely unsolved. Though robotic landers can weigh as little
as about 2 metric tons, they are expected to require as much as 50 metric tons in
the manned case, which essentially precludes any passive means of deceleration.
Successful planetary descent of such heavy landers will necessitate active control
starting at supersonic speeds early in the EDL entry phase.
For planets or moons without an atmosphere, a solid rocket is typically used for
lander deceleration in a Braking Burn phase, which is then followed by a Powered
Descent controlled by liquid fuel propulsion for final landing. The process is com-
plicated by the fact that solid rockets must burn all of their fuel to completion once
initiated. Significant uncertainty generally exists in the associated burn-time, leading
to uncertainty in the vehicle state relative to the target at the end of the burn phase.
Analogous to atmospheric entry and descent, the Powered Descent phase is designed
to correct for any error accumulated during the solid rocket phase; autonomous PD
guidance algorithms must be called to guide the lander as close as possible to the
given surface target in order to achieve optimal landing accuracies.
In all planetary or lunar landing missions, the associated autonomous guidance
problems for translational motion can be expressed as highly-constrained optimal
control problems [3, 18, 119]. Written in terms of Problem G&C, the guidance
1 Spacecraft Autonomy Challenges for Next-Generation Space Missions 15

equations can be represented as follows: Let x = (x1 , x2 , x3 ), where x1 ∈ R3 and


x2 ∈ R3 are the position and velocity, respectively, relative to the target in the
rotating frame of Mars, and x3 > 0 is the lander mass. The guidance problem can
be formulated as,
 
u
ẋ = f (t, x, u) = A(ω)x + B g(x1 ) +
x3

⎨ {x | x(t) = x0 }
⎪ for t = t0
X (t) = {x γ n̂ x1 (t) ≥ T x1 (t) and x2 (t) ≤ V̄
T
for t ∈ (t0 , t f )


{x | H x(t) = a} for t = t f
U (t) = u ρ1 ≤ u ≤ ρ2 and n̂ T u ≥ u cos β

where A(ω) defines the Newtonian motion in a rotating frame with fixed rotation rate
ω and g : R3 → R3 defines the gravitational field. Here X (t) captures initial and
final state constraints, along with constraints during the maneuver (known as “glide
slope” constraints [18]). The control vector norm has both an upper bound ρ2 and a
nonzero lower bound ρ1 due to the fact that the thrusters cannot be operated reliably
below a prescribed value. The other constraint on the thrust vector is that it has to
remain in a cone defined by the unit surface norm, n̂ ∈ R3 , and half-angle β in order
to avoid any possibility of rotating the lander excessively, which could interfere with
sensors that must be directed towards the surface. Note that the vehicle is assumed
to be a point mass with a thrust vector attached to it. This simplification is a valid
one since the attitude control authority and bandwidth are much higher than those
for translation, so that the vehicle can quickly adjust its orientation any time a thrust
vector is commanded.
As one does not know with certainty the initial relative state x0 into which
the lander will inserted from interplanetary flight, this problem must be solved
autonomously in real-time on-board the spacecraft. To accommodate this, some
authors have developed simplified, approximate versions of this problem that lend
themselves to analytical solutions [40, 78, 88, 91, 122]; however, to certify preci-
sion guidance across the entire landing envelope (the initial conditions from which
it is physically possible to land), one must explicitly account for the full set of con-
straints. Unfortunately, the control constraints U (t) define a non-convex set (due to
ρ1 > 0), which further emphasizes, as previously described, the benefits of lossless
convexification techniques [1, 3, 18, 59] and convex relaxations that are solvable
using Interior Point Methods (IPMs). The lossless convexification-based algorithm
[3] has already been demonstrated successfully by NASA JPL. See [72–74] for
flight videos. These test flights successively demonstrated increasingly aggressive
optimal divert maneuvers, starting from 100 m for unoptimized flight and ending
with the longest possible optimal divert of 750 m, showing strong evidence that
performance boundaries can be pushed to the ultimate physical limits via onboard
optimization.
16 J.A. Starek et al.

1.2.4.3 Challenges for AR&D, AIS, and Proximity Operations About


Primitive Bodies

In AR&D, AIS, and close proximity operations near space objects (such as spacecraft
or primitive celestial bodies) that are cooperative or otherwise, the primary guidance
objective is to compute a state trajectory that safely brings the spacecraft as close
as needed (including docking) to its target object while consuming as little fuel as
possible and avoiding any nearby hazards. In general, this introduces many difficult,
non-convex trajectory constraints into the optimal control problem given by Problem
G&C [110]. A detailed list of examples are included here to illustrate the point:
• Constraining sensor field-of-view: Often in proximity operations it is necessary
to keep the target, spacecraft or primitive body in the field-of-view (FOV) of
onboard sensors. This can be represented mathematically as:

n̂ · (r − r T ) ≥ cos αr − r T 

where n̂ is the unit vector describing the sensor boresight, r is the position vector
of the spacecraft, r T is the position vector of the target body, and α is the half-
cone angle defining the FOV. This constraint couples the attitude and translational
dynamics through n̂, which is determined by the orientation of the spacecraft. To
see this explicitly, if the position vectors are resolved in a rotating reference frame,
e.g. LVLH (Local-Vertical-Local-Horizontal), and n̂ is resolved in a spacecraft
fixed frame, then the equation above can be re-expressed as,

(r − r T )T C(q)n̂ ≥ cos αr − r T 

where q is the quaternion describing the attitude of the spacecraft, and C(q) is
the directional cosine matrix that takes a vector in the spacecraft body reference
frame to the LVLH frame.
• Avoiding plume impingement: Impingement of thruster exhaust plumes on neigh-
boring spacecraft poses a serious threat that can jeopardize sensitive optical
devices, generate large force perturbations and disturbance torques, and disrupt
thermal blankets and coatings [56]. Prevention requires restricting thrusters that
are pointed towards neighboring vehicle(s) from firing below a prescribed relative
distance. Unfortunately, this imposes a loss of control authority and necessitates
special guidance or escape plans that never apply thrust forces directed away from
the target when in close proximity. This constraint exists for primitive bodies as
well due to scientific contamination concerns, i.e. during sample return.
Represented mathematically, plume impingement constraints can be stated as, for
i = 1, . . . , n t ,

(r − r T )T C(q)tˆi ≥ cos β p r − r T 
u i = 0 when
r − r T  ≤ R p
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degrees F.—and are immediately succeeded by marked increase in
the severity of the symptoms, both mental and physical, especially if
the attacks follow each other in rapid succession or last for a number
of days. They may be due to hemorrhage, embolism, or effusion,
and be marked by any or all of the usual symptoms and sequences
of those conditions, permanent or transient. General and aural
vertigo are not uncommon.

The muscular tremor before the last stages varies in different


muscles—excessive perhaps in the tongue, moderate in the fingers,
and so on. It may also seem slight as compared with the other
symptoms, or, on the other hand, be enormously exaggerated in
certain groups of muscles out of all proportion to all other indications.
At the end extreme and constant tremulousness accompanies every
voluntary movement.

Spastic paralysis, muscular tension, contractures, rigidity of the most


persistent character seem at times to be under the influence of the
will, although of cortical origin and in a certain sense automatic, like
convulsions.

The knee-jerk is changed in somewhat more than half the cases, a


little oftener exaggerated than abolished; but sometimes the reflexes
are enormously increased all over the body, so that a strong puff of
air in the face even will set the arms and legs going like a jumping-
jack. I have twice seen the patellar reflex abolished in one leg, and
so marked in the other as to seem to me exaggerated.24 I have also
known it to disappear absolutely in both legs two weeks after it had
been found to be excessively exaggerated. It also varies under
conditions of rest, fatigue, excitement, etc. Intense pain in the joints
occurs, and I have found it where the knee-jerk was exaggerated, in
one case giving rise in a physician to the delusion that his arms and
elbows had been resected. This may disappear in time. Charcot's
joint disease has been observed.
24 There was no evidence, and there had been no history, of a hemiplegic attack in
either case.
In the final stages the bones are fragile and easily break;
hemorrhages under the periosteum or perichondrium arise from
trifling force or injury, giving rise to hæmatomata, the most common
of which are on parts exposed to pressure, etc., as the ear. The
patient is confined to his bed, fed like a small child, demented, hardly
able to articulate the extravagant delusions which form such a
grotesque contrast to his actual state, until the mind is as incapable
of forming or receiving ideas as of expressing thoughts; and the
body is simply a filthy, helpless mass of humanity, dying of
exhaustion or decay, unless lung gangrene, bed-sores superficial
and deep, necrobiosis, exhausting diarrhœa, pneumonia, pulmonary
consumption, perhaps asphyxia from an epileptic fit or choking, have
followed incontinence of urine and feces to the fatal end, or heart
failure or apoplexy have closed the scene.

PATHOLOGY AND MORBID ANATOMY.25—General paralysis of the insane


is, according to Mendel, following Rokitansky's idea, a connective-
tissue disease, affecting the nerve-cells and tissues secondarily,
while Tuczek and Wernicke think that the primary disease is of the
nerve-elements (primäre Atrophie der Nervenelemente)—a diffuse
interstitial cortical encephalitis on the one hand, or a diffuse
parenchymatous cortical encephalitis on the other. There is also, in
well-marked cases, atrophy of the white substance, due, according
to general opinion of pathologists, to primary interstitial encephalitis
ending in sclerosis.
25 For a detailed statement of the post-mortem appearances in general paralysis
compare Spitzka's Insanity, pp. 218-243; Beiträge zur pathologischen Anatomie und
zur Pathologie der Dementia Paralytica, von Dr. Franz Tuczek; Die Progressive
Paralyse der Irren, von Dr. E. Mendel; Lehrbuch der Gehirnkrankheiten, von Dr. C.
Wernicke, iii. pp. 536-541. Westphal's classical work is not referred to, as his latest
views and others of interest are given in a report of a discussion by the German
Association of Alienists in the Allgemeine Zeitschrift für Psychiatrie, iv. 1883, pp. 634-
638 and 648-654. In the third number of the Neurol. Centralblatt, Mendel reports an
autopsy of a patient diagnosticated to have melancholia, who died a violent death,
where he thought that he found evidence of the early stage of general paralysis in
moderate opacity of the pia mater, with nodules as large as a pin's head in both
parietal regions, and in slight indications of diffuse interstitial inflammation of the
cortex, the blood-vessels in the frontal convolutions being extensively filled with white
blood-corpuscles.

In the majority of cases there is pachymeningitis, often extensive and


excessive, with hemorrhages, but which may be no more than is
quite commonly found in persons dying of phthisis or chronic
nephritis. There is also, usually, leptomeningitis, with adhesions to
the cortex, especially of the anterior and antero-lateral portions, so
firm that the arachnoid cannot be removed without tearing off
portions of the brain; but it is sometimes scarcely observed, and may
be no more than is found in persons dying simply of old age. The pia
may be in places thickened, opaque, and without adhesions.
Ependymitis is usual.

In the terminal stage of general paralysis there is well-marked


atrophy (with compensatory serous effusion), which is, as a rule,
most marked in the cortex of the brain, but which is of varying
degrees in its different portions. Rarely there is scarcely any atrophy
of the cortex. The central portion of the brain may be of leathery
consistence, but usually shows marked sclerosis, which also may
affect its different portions and the different ganglia very differently.
The changes resulting from inflammatory, degenerative, and atrophic
processes are general and profound.

An opinion is beginning to obtain that general paralysis is primarily a


disease of the small cerebral blood-vessels, functional or vaso-
motor; and Meynert holds that the transition line between that stage,
which he considers curable, and organic disease may be recognized
clinically.

In general paralysis, as in other mental diseases, the nervous


discharge is accompanied by a greater disturbance in the structure
of the gray substance of the brain, a more extensive decompounding
of it, and consequently by a more complete exhaustion of nervous
force than in healthy mental processes. Longer periods of rest and
improved nutrition are therefore necessary to restore healthy
function. In general paralysis, as in all other mental diseases
dependent upon destructive disease of the brain, there is not only
decompounding, but decomposing and disintegrating, of the
structure of the brain.

Posterior spinal sclerosis is frequently found. If alone or


predominating over sclerosis of the lateral columns of the cord, the
knee-jerk is abolished if the morbid process has gone far enough. If
descending degeneration of the lateral columns is chiefly found, and
is sufficiently advanced, the knee-jerk is increased. At least one of
these forms of sclerosis exists in the vast majority of cases.

There is also a distinctly syphilitic disease of the smaller cerebral


arteries, together with a diffuse parenchymatous and interstitial
encephalitis of syphilitic origin. At present we have no means of
differentiating it at the autopsy from general paralysis following a
subacute or chronic course, except inferentially from the presence of
other evidences of syphilis. It is not always possible, therefore, to
distinguish between syphilis and a syphilitic diathesis as the chief
factor in diffuse encephalitis.

DIAGNOSIS.—Although a well-marked case of general paralysis is


unmistakable, the diagnosis in the early stages or in obscure cases
may be extremely difficult. The varying degrees in which the various
portions of the cortex, medullary portion, and different ganglia of the
brain may be involved in the morbid process naturally give rise to a
great variety in the symptoms, mental and physical, sensory and
motor, emotional and intellectual, and in the relative preponderance
of one or another in individual cases. The usual symptoms of any
form of mental disease may for a time obscure the dementia which
sooner or later must appear in general paralysis, and which, as has
already been said, is the only mental symptom universally present in
all cases. This mental impairment must also be associated with
progressive muscular loss of power, although the relation of the two
symptoms to each other, the degree to which a given amount of the
one leads to a fair inference of a certain amount of the other, is liable
to the greatest variation, the range of which can only be learned by
observation and experience. There is a certain quality to the
dementia, as already described, which is often sufficient of itself to
establish the diagnosis with a practised physician.

The early mental symptoms may simulate those of cerebral


neurasthenia, in which the patient thinks that there is decided mental
impairment, although there is no progressive dementia. The tremor
in neurasthenia is greater and more universal than in the stage of
general paralysis with which it might be confounded, and the
subjective symptoms are much more prominent.

Muscular malaise and pains throughout the body give rise to the
diagnosis of malaria or rheumatism, in which there may be loss of
power, but no ataxia or dementia.

The sclerosis may be predominating or pronounced in the basal


ganglia and bulbar nuclei, giving occasion for a hasty diagnosis of
labio-glosso-pharyngeal paralysis, until it is found that the clinical
history of that disease is not followed. In the same way, any motor or
sensory ganglia or nerve-roots may be so early implicated in the
degenerative process as to mislead the physician into giving
attention to only the local symptoms.

Once I have known the early convulsions of general paralysis in a


very self-conscious woman mistaken for hysteria, the mental
impairment and physical weakness having been overlooked on
account of the prominence of the convulsive attacks and the
hysterical symptoms, which may be a complication of any form of
insanity in young and middle-aged people, particularly women.

It is not uncommon for the attacks to so thoroughly resemble


epilepsy as to be mistaken for it, the dementia not being observed or
being supposed to be the ordinary mental deterioration generally
following epilepsy. In such cases the progressive dementia, ataxia,
and muscular weakness may advance so slowly as to entirely
escape observation for a long time, and give rise to the confident
diagnosis of epilepsy for five or six years. Epilepsy, however, arising
in a vigorous, middle-aged person without evident cause, should
always suggest the suspicion of syphilis, cerebral tumor, or general
paralysis, when careful scrutiny of all the symptoms will show where
it belongs.

Embolisms, hemorrhages, cerebral effusions, more or less diffuse


encephalitis from an injury to the head, sometimes give rise to the
suspicion of general paralysis, until it is found that its characteristic
progressive symptoms do not appear, but chiefly when the history of
the case has not been definitely ascertained, or when the usual
symptoms of those conditions are not well marked.

Chronic endarteritis, arterio-sclerosis, atheroma of the cerebral


arteries may be so diffused as to simulate general paralysis,
especially in drunkards and syphilitics, but the symptoms do not
advance in the manner characteristic of that disease.

Multiple cerebro-spinal sclerosis of the descending form may be


confounded with general paralysis while the symptoms are obscure
and consist in change of character, when, indeed, organic disease
can only be suspected to be present.

Lead has been known to attack the central nervous system in such a
way as to produce an intellectual apathy and muscular weakness
somewhat resembling the early stage of the demented form of
general paralysis, but without its ataxic symptoms and its regular
progress. The presence of lead in the urine, and the marked
improvement from the use of iodide of potassium, tonics, and
electricity, are sufficient to establish the diagnosis.

Chronic and persistent alcoholism is always attended with some


mental impairment, which may so resemble the dementia of general
paralysis, with marked moral perversion, mental exaltation, grand
delusions, muscular tremor, ataxic symptoms, and impaired
muscular power, as to make the diagnosis doubtful for several
months, until removal of the cause (alcohol) in the course of time
causes the symptoms to so abate as to make the real character of
the disease evident.
I have once seen chronic interstitial nephritis without its usual
prominent symptoms and with mild uræmic convulsions mistaken for
general paralysis.

A tumor of the brain, if not attended with the common symptom of


vomiting, may be the cause of convulsions and headache
resembling those often seen in general paralysis. Optic neuritis or
atrophy is usual in cerebral tumor, but rare in a stage of general
paralysis so early that the diagnosis might be doubtful.

Hemorrhagic pachymeningitis also now and then simulates an


obscure case of general paralysis in the early stage, but a few weeks
at most settle any doubts in the matter.

Although diffuse cerebral syphilis is more apt to be associated with


distinctly localized symptoms than the demented form of general
paralysis, and although it is characterized by a mental apathy and
physical torpor which follow a more regular course with more definite
symptoms, resulting in a slow decay, yet there may be doubtful
cases in which the differential diagnosis is impossible, and in which
antisyphilitic treatment does not throw any light on the subject.
Syphilitic new growths, endarteritis, and meningitis may so far
improve from the use of mercury or the iodide of potassium as to end
in an apparent cure, but in those cases the symptoms are not so
marked as to make an exact diagnosis always possible. A distinct
syphilitic cachexia is presumptive evidence of syphilitic encephalitis
when there is doubt whether the syphilis is the cause or the
diathesis.

Profound melancholia is not so often as varying gloom or moderate


despondency a symptom of general paralysis. When it is such, there
are developed in time the other marks of that disease, and it will only
be necessary to hold the diagnosis in reserve for their appearance.
The melancholia masks the dementia unless it is very carefully
sought for, and the tremor may be as marked in melancholia as in
the early stage of general paralysis, but more universal.
Acute mania is not uncommonly mistaken for general paralysis,
when, as often happens, the delusions are as expansive and the
tremor as great in the mania as in general paralysis; and it may be
several months before the differential diagnosis can be made with
certainty. In the presence of a high degree of maniacal excitement,
with great emotional agitation and muscular tremor, it is difficult to
establish the fact of the existence or not of dementia in doubtful
cases until it is well developed. Acute mania has been known to
constitute the prodromal period of general paralysis for a number of
years.

Primary mental deterioration cannot be always differentiated from


general paralysis of the demented type in its early stage. After the
age of sixty the probabilities are in favor of primary mental
deterioration in doubtful cases, but general paralysis occurs—
seldom, to be sure—up to the age of sixty-five.

Early senile dementia may simulate general paralysis of the


subacute form, but has not its clinical history. General paralysis of
the quiet, insidious type and primary mental deterioration have been
called premature senility. The three diseased conditions have certain
points of similarity, and the pathological processes involved in them
do not differ sufficiently to authorize the assumption that they are not
closely related, if not simply variations, due to age and other causes,
in one morbid process.

Finally, the mental impairment caused by the prolonged use of


bromide of potassium and hydrate of chloral has been mistaken for
general paralysis, until a critical examination unmistakably showed
the presence of the well-known symptoms of those drugs.

In examining the patient it is especially important to avoid leading


questions, as in general paralysis and in those conditions which
simulate its early stage the mind is in a condition to readily fall into
the train of thought suggested to it. The fact should be kept in mind,
too, that the symptoms in early general paralysis are so variable as
to be sometimes quite evident, and at other times not to be got at
with certainty at all or only after long and patient examination; that
they sometimes quite disappear under the influence of complete
mental and bodily rest; and that in all stages, until near the end, such
complete remissions may occur as to make the diagnosis,
independent of the history of the case, difficult if not impossible.

A gentleman once committed an offence characteristic of general


paralysis in marrying a pretty servant-girl while temporarily away
from his home. His wife, daughters, and friends saw that the act was
so contrary to his natural character that he was placed in an insane
asylum and kept there several weeks under observation for an
opinion as to his responsibility. He appeared so well in the absolute
quiet and rest that he was declared sane, tried, and sentenced to the
State prison, where he showed his marked mental impairment as
soon as he was set to work. He could not concentrate his mind
sufficiently for the simplest labor, and a couple of years later he was
sent to the insane asylum to die, a complete mental and physical
wreck, in the late stage of general paralysis.

PROGNOSIS.—The very few reported cures in so common a disease


as general paralysis, and the circumstances under which they have
been reported, lead to the suspicion that there was an error in
diagnosis or that the mistake was made of supposing a remission to
be a cure, as has often happened. The course of the disease is more
rapid in men than women, and in young persons than in the older.
From the galloping cases of a couple of months to those slowly
advancing, with long remissions, over twenty years, the average,
including the prodromal period, is probably not far from five (perhaps
six) years. Collected from asylum statistics, it is given as from two to
three years. When I am sure of the diagnosis, I generally say that the
patient may die within twenty-four hours (of paralysis of the heart,
from suffocation by an accident in an epileptic attack, from choking,
from cerebral hemorrhage or effusion, or suddenly with cerebral
symptoms of which the autopsy gives no satisfactory explanation),
within a short time of intercurrent disease, especially diarrhœa or
pneumonia, or that he may live several years, as he probably will,
and possibly have a remission, during which he may lead for a while
somewhat the same kind of life as other people.
Persons presenting symptoms which can in no way be positively
distinguished from those at the beginning of the prodromal period of
general paralysis recover, but not many come under the physician's
care so early. We are not yet in a position to say whether they were
suffering from a mild, transient illness or from what would otherwise
have become serious organic disease.

TREATMENT.—Life may be prolonged in general paralysis, and usually


is prolonged, by the use of such measures as contribute to the
patient's comfort, and which in a general way have already been
considered under the head of treatment of mental disease on a
previous page.

In my experience, stimulating tonics, wine, and even coffee, increase


the morbid cerebral energy of the early stage of the disease, but are
sometimes of use later. Cod-liver oil and the hypophosphites do
better, and many of the disagreeable symptoms of the period of loss
of control over the involuntary muscles are relieved by strychnia.
Ergot and the judicious use of the bromides abate the cerebral
congestion. Gastro-intestinal disorders, when not controlled by
attention to diet, require the usual treatment.

Iodide of potassium in the large or small dose, and mercury, I have


never found to benefit those cases of general paralysis with a
previous history of syphilis. On the contrary, they have proved
debilitating and harmful.

When furious excitement is not relieved by prolonged warm baths,


with cool applications to the head if possible, and quiet, chloral is of
use, and sometimes opium and its preparations.

Frequently-repeated violent convulsions, the epileptic state, are


usually at once mitigated by chloral given by the rectum; the
inhalation of nitrite of amyl is reported also to have been of use.

There are few cases in which I find that morphine does not quiet
restlessness, calm delusions, abate distressing hallucinations, and
make the patient generally more comfortable; and I give it freely,
seldom more than twice a day, often almost daily, for two or three
years. In this way it can be used in quite moderate doses. Coca also
relieves symptoms.

Rest and quiet are most important in all stages of the disease. This
can be best accomplished in a quiet private house in the country,
which can be made a virtual hospital, and next in a private asylum.
But such care is beyond the reach of the vast majority of the insane,
to whom the public asylum becomes a necessity. Wherever they are,
an orderly life is best for them, with as little irritating interference with
their ways or control of them as is possible.

If the results of treatment are in the highest degree unsatisfactory,


and consist chiefly in meeting symptoms as they come up, without
hope of permanent recovery, it is not impossible that when we can
put the patient under treatment at the very beginning of his disease,
as we can now do in pulmonary consumption, the prognosis in the
former disease may change as much for the better as it has changed
in the latter.

A general paralytic is at any time liable to congestive or maniacal


attacks of short duration, and so is always, potentially, a dangerous
person. In the prodromal period the risk is small; in all stages there
will, in the majority of cases, be some warning; but in the developed
disease the only safe way is to have some responsible person near
at hand, both to prevent the patient from doing harm to others and to
save him from injuring himself, whether by intent or through not
knowing better than to wander off or fall into all sorts of accidents. In
many conditions several should be readily available, or else the
security of an asylum must be sought.

In the treatment of general paralysis by society the same rule should


obtain as in all forms of insanity—that distinct mental disease is
presumptive proof of irresponsibility, or at least of limited
responsibility; that a diseased mind means lessened intellectual
power throughout and diminished ability to choose the right and
avoid the wrong; that there are changes in circulation or nutrition, or
some unknown condition in the brain, especially in general paralysis,
by virtue of which the mental state and power of self-control vary
from time to time, and as a result of which a person seeming
responsible one day may have been quite irresponsible some
previous day.

INSANITY FROM GROSS LESIONS OF THE BRAIN (tumors, new growths of


all kinds, exostoses, spicules or portions of depressed bone,
embolisms, hemorrhages, wounds, injuries, cysticerci, etc.) is
attended with the usual indications of those conditions which may
determine diffuse disorders of the brain, giving rise to any of the
symptoms of the various psycho-neuroses and cerebro-psychoses.
The lowered mental and moral tone after cerebral hemorrhages is a
matter of common observation, and after one an individual is rarely
observed to be fully himself again.

The PROGNOSIS is very unfavorable. Although there are rare cases of


improvement, the tendency is toward profound dementia.

CEREBRAL SYPHILITIC INSANITY comes either under the head of the


insanity last described or belongs to the slowly-advancing dementia
with final paralysis already referred to under the head of Diagnosis in
General Paralysis, and called by some authorities on mental disease
pseudo-paralytic dementia from syphilis.

Antisyphilitic treatment is of value in the first class of cases, and


although most of the recoveries end in relapses and incurability, the
prolonged use of iodide of potassium seems sometimes to effect a
permanent cure. It is claimed that similar treatment is followed by the
same result in the cases of dementia with paresis, but the weight of
authority, and certainly my own experience, are against that
statement.

CHRONIC ALCOHOLIC INSANITY depends upon the vascular and other


changes due to abuse of alcohol so long continued that the
pathological condition has become organic and incurable. It is
commonly associated with delusions of suspicion or persecution. It
may be a purely moral insanity, with gross beliefs rather than
distinctly insane delusions, and it rarely fails to be at least that when
the persistent excessive drinking is kept up until the age of beginning
dissolution of the brain. It then gives rise to all sorts of embarrassing
complications in regard to property, family relations, and wills.
Chronic alcoholic insanity may take the form of mild dementia, by
virtue of which the patient cannot control himself, but can be easily
kept within bounds of reasonable conduct by various degrees of
restraint, from the constant presence of a responsible person to the
seclusion of an asylum. In well-marked cases this dementia is
associated with muscular weakness, tremor, and exhilaration to such
an extent as to simulate general paralysis. It is then called by some
—especially French—writers pseudo-paralytic dementia from
alcohol.

The condition is susceptible of improvement by removal of the


cause, alcohol, and by a carefully-regulated life, hydropathic
treatment, etc., but complete recoveries cannot be expected.

SECONDARY DELUSIONAL INSANITY is slowly developed from various


mental diseases, incurable or uncured, where the progress to
marked dementia is slow, by the persistence of delusions in those
forms of insanity characterized by delusions. It is chronic and
incurable. In melancholia and mania the mental depression and the
exaltation and motor excitement disappear to a great extent, and
there are left a slowly-advancing dementia, confusion, and
expanding delusions, with apathy or with agitation, for which the
asylum is the only safe place unless physical weakness makes the
patient harmless. It is either a terminal state in which many forms of
insanity end, or a stage through which they pass to terminal
dementia. It depends upon incurable, and therefore organic,
changes in the brain, like all incurable insanity, although those
changes are not yet determined exactly. It might be a question
whether chronic delusional insanity properly belongs under the head
of Organic Mental Diseases, and a similar criticism may be made
regarding terminal dementia. But in this paper no definite
classification of insanity is attempted, because our knowledge of the
subject is still so indefinite, although the several mental diseases are
grouped in a certain order for convenience to the reader and the
writer; and this order of course approximately follows natural lines.

TERMINAL DEMENTIA is the end to which most of the insanity not


resulting in recovery finally comes. The features marking the disease
in its early stages for the most part disappear, leaving all the
functions of the mind impaired in all degrees up to total extinction—
the whole character on a lower plane. It is the disease which to so
great an extent crowds the wards of insane asylums and
almshouses with the (1) agitated or (2) apathetic chronic insane, the
worst of whom are mental and physical wrecks, squatting on floors,
uttering an unintelligible jargon, noisy, filthy, without intelligence for
the simplest natural wants. Their chief function, under the prevalent
methods of construction and management of lunatic hospitals in
most places, is to blight with a certain feeling of hopelessness many
of the curable insane who are obliged to go for rest and quiet to
institutions where the overwhelming majority of the inmates are
manifestly and painfully incurable.

French writers include a great part of chronic delusional insanity


(secondary confusional insanity, Wahnsinn, secundäre Verrücktheit)
and terminal dementia (Blödsinn) under one head, démence; and
with much reason, as it is not always possible to differentiate
between the two.

The proper TREATMENT of the incurable, demented insane should


provide not only that they be not at large, where they annoy the
strong and the well, but also that they shall not disturb the insane
who are acutely ill and in need of treatment suited to sick people,
and whose chances of recovery at best are none too favorable.
Experiments, now quite numerous, have shown that the lives and
occupations of many of them may be made not entirely unlike those
to which they were reared, and that nearly all may be suitably
provided for without the expensive hospitals and appliances
necessary for the proper treatment of acute mental disease.

A comparison of countries in which there is and is not a


comprehensive system of State supervision of the insane by a
competent board seems to me to reveal so unquestionably the fact
that such a system alone provides the proper protection for the
insane, and the needed variety and uniformly high standard of
excellence in the provisions for their treatment, that I hope to see the
medical profession using its vast influence upon public opinion to
secure it.

If we meet in the wards of our insane asylums hopeless mental and


physical wrecks, if we find there the extremity of human
wretchedness, the supreme control of all that is evil or vile in our
nature, the worst antitypes of all the virtues, so, on the other hand,
nowhere else do we see such struggles for the mastery of the better
impulses, such efforts against such odds to hold back the mind in an
unequal fight. Nowhere else, too, are developed finer sympathy,
more beautiful unselfishness, more generous charity, or more heroic
resignation where no hope in life remains but for death.

The State has taken charge of these most unfortunate people,


shutting up behind the same locked doors and barred windows
people of all social grades, often mingling together in one presence
the so-called criminal insane, insane criminals, idiots, imbeciles,
epileptics, paralytics, the chronic insane, and the demented, with
patients suffering from acute mental disease. Some of them are
unconscious of their condition, many are better off than ever before,
but others are painfully alive to their situation and surroundings, fully
aware of the gravity of their illness, keenly sensitive to the
distressing sights and associations, disturbed by the noises, and
discouraged by the many chances of becoming like the worst
incurables around them. The State cannot evade the responsibility of
seeing that their confinement is made the least rigorous, wretched,
and injurious possible.
HYSTERIA.
BY CHARLES K. MILLS, M.D.

DEFINITION.—Hysteria is a functional disease of the cerebro-spinal


axis, characterized either by special mental symptoms or by motor,
sensory, vaso-motor, or visceral disorders related in varying degree
to abnormal psychical conditions.

This, like all other definitions of hysteria, is imperfect. No absolutely


satisfactory definition can well be given. It is not abnormal ideation,
although this is so often prominent; it is not emotional exaltation,
although this may be a striking element; it is not perversion of
reflexes and of sensation, although these may be present. Some
would make it a disease of the womb, others an affection of the
ovaries; some regard it as of spinal, others as of cerebral origin;
some hold it to be a disease of the nerves, others claim that it is a
true psychosis; but none of these views can be sustained.

Sir James Paget1 says of hysterical patients that they are as those
who are color-blind. They say, “I cannot;” it looks like “I will not,” but it
is “I cannot will.” Although, however, much of the nature of hysteria is
made clear in this explanation, hysteria is not simply paralysis of the
will. A true aboulomania or paralysis of the will occurs in non-
hysterical patients, male and female, and of late years has been
studied by alienists.
1 “Clinical Lecture on the Nervous Mimicry of Organic Diseases,” Lancet for October,
November, and December, 1873.

In many definitions the presence of a spasmodic seizure or


paroxysm is made the central and essential feature; but, although
convulsions so frequently occur, typical hysterical cases pass
through the whole course of the disorder without suffering from
spasm of any kind.
In a general neurosis a definition, well considered, should serve the
purpose of controlling and guiding, to a large extent at least, the
discussion of the subject.

The definition given asserts that hysteria is a functional disease. In


the present state of knowledge this is the only ground that can be
taken. It is claimed that in a strict sense no disease can be regarded
as functional; but it is practically necessary to use such terms as
functional in reference to affections in which disordered action
without recognizable permanent alteration of structure is present.
Temporary anatomical changes must sometimes be present in
hysteria; organic disease may be a complication in special cases;
post-mortem appearances may occasionally be found as accidents
or coincidences; it is possible that structural alterations may result
from hysteria; but no pathologist has as yet shown the existence of a
special morbid anatomy underlying as a permanent basis the
hysterical condition.

The mental, motor, sensory, and other phenomena of hysteria


cannot be explained except by regarding the cerebro-spinal nervous
system as the starting-point or active agency in their production.

The term vaso-motor is used in a broad sense to include not only


peripheral vascular disturbances, but also cardiac, respiratory,
secretory, and excretory affections of varying type. Some of these
disorders are also visceral, but under visceral affections are also
included such hysterical phenomena as abdominal phantom tumors,
hysterical tympanites, and the like.

That all hysterical phenomena are related in varying degree to


abnormal psychical conditions may perhaps, at first sight, be
regarded as open to dispute and grave doubt. It is questionable
whether in every case of hysteria the relation of the symptoms to
psychical states could be easily demonstrated. I certainly do not look
upon every hysterical patient as a case of insanity in the technical
sense, but hold that a psychical element is or has been present,
even when the manifestations of the disorder are pre-eminently
physical. James Hendrie Lloyd,2 in a valuable paper, has ably
sustained this position, one which has been held by others, although
seldom, if ever, so clearly defined as by this writer.
2 “Hysteria: A Study in Psychology,” Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, vol. x.,
No. 4, October, 1883.

The alleged uterine origin of hysteria has been entirely disregarded


in the definition. This has been done intentionally. It is high time for
the medical profession to throw off the thraldom of this ancient view.
The truth is, as asserted by Chambers,3 that hysteria “has no more
to do with the organs of reproduction than with any other of the
female body; and it is no truer to say that women are hysterical
because they have wombs, than that men are gouty because they
have beards.”
3 Brit. Med. Journ., December 21, 1861, 651.

SYNONYMS.—Hysterics, Vapors. Many Latin and other synonyms


have been used for hysteria: most of these have reference to the
supposed uterine origin of the disease, as, for instance, Uteri
adscensus, Asthma uteri, Vapores uterini, Passio hysterica,
Strangulatio uterina seu Vulvæ. Some French synonyms are Maladie
imaginaire, Entranglement, and Maux ou attaques de nerfs. Other
French synonyms besides these have been used; most of them are
translations from the Latin, having reference also to the uterine
hypothesis. In our language it is rare to have any other single word
used as a synonym for hysteria. Sir James Paget4 introduced the
term neuromimesis, or nervous mimicry, and suggested that it be
substituted for hysteria, and neuromimetic for hysterical.
Neuromimesis is, however, not a true synonym. Many cases of
hysteria are cases of neuromimesis, but they are not all of this
character. Among the desperate attempts which have been made to
originate a new name for hysteria one perhaps worthy of passing
notice is that of Metcalfe Johnson,5 who proposes to substitute the
term ganglionism, as giving a clue to the pathology of hysteria. His
main idea is that hysteria exhibits a train of symptoms which are
almost always referable to the sympathetic or ganglionic nervous
system. This is another of those half truths which have misled so
many. The term hysteria, from the Greek ὑστερα, the uterus,
although attacked and belabored, has come to stay; it is folly to
attempt to banish it.
4 Op. cit.

5 Med. Times and Gaz., 1872, ii. 612.

METHOD OF DISCUSSING THE SUBJECT.—It is hard to decide upon the


best method of discussing the subject of hysteria. One difficulty is
that connected with the question whether certain affections should
be considered as independent disorders or under some subdivisions
of the general topic of hysteria. Certain great phases of hysteria are
represented by hystero-epilepsy, catalepsy, ecstasy, etc.; but it will
best serve practical ends to treat of these in separate articles. They
have distinctive clinical features, and are capable of special definition
and discussion.

HISTORY AND LITERATURE.—To give a complete history of hysteria it


would be necessary to traverse the story of medicine from the time
of Hippocrates to the present. A complete bibliography would require
an immense volume. Volume vi. of the Index Catalogue of the
Library of the Surgeon-General's Office, United States Army, which
has appeared during the present year (1885), contains a
bibliography of nearly seventeen double-column pages, most of it in
the finest type. The references are to 318 books and 914 journals.
The number of books and articles cited as having appeared in
different languages is as follows: Latin, 99; Greek, 2; German, 180;
British, 177; American, 159; French, 449; Italian, 75; Spanish, 45;
Swedish, 12; miscellaneous, 34. Even this wonderful list probably
only represents a tithe of the works written on this subject. Those
desirous of studying it from a bibliographical point of view can do so
by consulting this great work.

Many as are the names and voluminous as is the literature, certain


names and certain works are pre-eminent—Sydenham, Laycock,
and Skey in England; Tissot, Briquet, Charcot, and Landouzy in
France; Stahl, Frank, Eulenburg, and Jolly in Germany; and in

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