Planning and representation of joint human-agent space missions via constraint-based models

During space missions, the interaction between a spacecraft’s planner and ground teams is very limited due to restrictions in communication. Commonly the role of such teams is reduced to receive the current state of a spacecraft and to send sequences of activities to it. However this concept of planning tends to change with the future advent of human interplanetary missions, so that astronauts become able to participate more actively in planning processes. This paper presents a planning approach, anchored in a constraint-based ontology, that considers the requirements of current space mission scenarios, but also provides the framework for future human missions. Furthermore we illustrate our ideas using a potential application in a Martian environment.