Lesson 8: The Final Mission

Congratulations, Commander! You have learned all the necessary skills. Now it is time to combine them into a fully automated experiment script.

Session Goals

Combine Hardware Control, Orbit Tracking, and Data Logging.
Implement logic to handle Day/Night Cycles.
Execute a robust Mission Loop.

The Mission Task

Your program must run autonomously. It should monitor the ISS position, take photos only when lighting conditions are good, tag them with location data, and keep a detailed log of operations.

Key Concepts

Automation: Creating a system that runs by itself without human intervention.
Integration: Combining different software modules (Camera, Sensors, Logging) to work together as a single system.
Robustness: The ability of a computer system to cope with errors during execution and handle different states (like Day vs Night) gracefully.

Mission Challenge: The Loop

Objective: Write the final flight code.

Instructions:

Create a loop that runs 5 times.
Check iss.get_status().
If Day: Log event, show LED message, take photo, tag photo with GPS.
If Night: Log event, clear LEDs.
Always wait for a short period at the end of each loop iteration.

Astro Pi Orbit

ISS Orbit Info

from astro_pi_orbit import ISS

Usage	Description
iss.get_status()	Check sunlit status
iss.get_position()	Get lat/lon

Camera

Raspberry Pi Camera

from picamzero import Camera

Usage	Description
cam.take_photo(file)	Capture image

EXIF

Image Metadata

from exif import Image

Usage	Description
img = Image(file)	Load image
img.gps_latitude = val	Set latitude

Logzero

Logging

from logzero import logger

Usage	Description
logger.info(msg)	Log info

Mission Control Interface

Output Terminal

Ready to execute...