  Small low-cost instruments enable new and exciting mission opportunities yet
their constrained volume and limited budgets make them especially susceptible
to suffering anomalies during flight. Radiation effects as well as sensor or
actuator failure can all pose a serious threat to the continued collection of
scientific data as well as cause the partial or complete loss of a mission
science payload. Onboard anomaly detection could allow instruments to recover
from such events but its ad hoc development typically falls outside the mission
timeline or monetary constraints. Here we describe a compact solution for the
implementation of onboard anomaly detection meant for space science missions.
The device is designed to be interoperable with a broad range of instruments
utilizing easily accessible power and logic signals to monitor the state of
peripherals and actuators without disrupting their functionality. By leveraging
a commercially available microcontroller with a radiation hardened alternative
package the device can be inexpensively sourced and assembled with minimal work
enabling instrument characterization on an expedited timeline. The system can
then be exchanged for a radiation hardened version ensuring the replicability
of observed anomalies in a laboratory environment during instrument operations.
We also present currently implemented anomaly detection algorithms which enable
the system to detect anomalies in instruments with varying failure modes and
allow mission designers to choose which detection approach best fits the
specific needs of their instrument. Finally, we showcase an example application
of this system in the detection of anomalies during the operation of a lysis
motor designed for use in biological space instruments.
