PTEP: the parallel telemetry processor

The Parallel Telemetry Processor (PTEP), a highspeed, robust, and extensible telemetry processing system is discussed in this paper. The system, written in Java, provides a multithreaded task-dispatching framework for downlink processing that allows existing data processing applications to be easily integrated into the processing pipeline. The system provides users with a color-coded flowchart that indicates the progress of packets through the system and displays intermediate data products as they are generated. Packets that cause processing errors are stored in an error queue for later review while the system continues to process new packets. PTEP currently processes telemetry from 7 different instruments on the FIDO prototype Mars rover at JPL, including multiple stereo cameras, a spectrometer, and a microscope. PTEP generates 21 science data products (5 megabytes of data) for every stereo image pair taken by the rover. Throughput is approximately 2 packets per minute, making it possible to process an entire downlink from the rover in minutes.