OVERVIEW

Engine Monitoring System: Mars Voyage Health & Control Suite

In the context of a long-duration mission like a six-month voyage to Mars, ensuring the structural and functional integrity of the propulsion system is critical. The Engine Monitoring System is a localized, wireless diagnostic and control platform designed to give astronauts a real-time “window” into their rocket’s performance. Using the Glyph C3 (ESP32-C3), we provide high-fidelity telemetry and a manual intervention system for the fuel pump, bridging the gap between automated sensing and human control.

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The Project Idea

The core of this project is to provide a “Decision Support System” for crew members. Instead of relying solely on automated systems that might fail in deep space, our system keeps the human in the loop.

We measure the physical stress of the engine (vibration and temperature) and the mechanical speed of the fuel pump (RPM). This data is not just stored locally; it is transmitted to a ThingSpeak cloud dashboard, allowing the crew to visualize trends and anomalies in real-time through dynamic graphs. Furthermore, we’ve implemented a manual override: if the telemetry suggests the fuel pump is spinning at a dangerous rate, the crew can use a physical potentiometer to manually throttle the motor and stabilize the system.

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Key Features

• Live Telemetry & Graphing: Real-time tracking of engine temperature and mechanical vibrations, visualized through the ThingSpeak application for easy trend analysis.
• Non-Contact RPM Sensing: High-speed measurement of the fuel pump using an IR sensor, ensuring we monitor rotational speed without interfering with the pump’s mechanical movement.
• Manual Motor Control (HITL): A physical 10k potentiometer acts as a manual throttle. This allows crew members to reduce or increase the fuel pump motor’s RPM based on live data feedback.
• Local & Remote Feedback:
  • OLED Display: Provides a localized “Cockpit View” of all parameters for the pilot.
  • ThingSpeak Cloud: Provides a long-distance historical view of engine performance.
• Compact Integration: The entire system is housed in a “Black Box” prototype, with all logic processed by the RISC-V based Glyph C3 module.

System Components

• MCU: Glyph C3 (ESP32-C3)
• Sensors:
  • IR Sensor: Measures Fuel Pump RPM.
  • Vibration Sensor: Detects engine structural stress.
  • MAX6675 Thermocouple: Monitors engine combustion temperature.
• Interface & Control:
  • 10k Potentiometer: Manual RPM override control.
  • SSD1306 OLED: Real-time data visualization on-board.
  • DC Motor: Represents the Fuel Pump system.
• Software/Cloud:
  • ThingSpeak API: Cloud-based data logging and graphing.
  • Arduino/C++: Core firmware for data processing and motor PWM control.

Logic Flow

1. Monitoring: The system continuously reads heat, vibration, and RPM data.
2. Visualization: Data is formatted and sent to the OLED screen and the ThingSpeak cloud for graphing.
3. Human Analysis: The crew observes the graphs. If vibration or temperature spikes due to high RPM, the crew identifies the danger.
4. Intervention: The crew rotates the potentiometer, which the Glyph C3 reads to adjust the motor’s PWM signal, effectively controlling the fuel pump speed to safe levels.

Hackathon Value

Our project addresses the “Every Joule and Byte Matters” challenge by:

• Mass Efficiency: Reducing the need for heavy, complex wiring through wireless telemetry.
• Safety: Providing a manual backup (Potentiometer) to automated systems.
• Clarity: Using ThingSpeak to turn raw numbers into understandable graphs, helping humans make faster, better decisions during the 6-month journey.

Team Details

Team Members:

• Gowri Shankar

• Ashwin

• Kowsik Subramaniyam

• Vanavan

  Developed By: Build Club , SSN College of Engineering, Chennai.