An unmanned aerial vehicle includes a camera, one or more sensors, memory storing first instructions that define an overall mission, and memory storing one or more mission cues. The vehicle further includes one or more processors configured to execute a first part of the first instructions to perform a first part of the overall mission. The processors are configured to process at least one of the image data and the sensor data to detect a presence of at least one of the mission cues. The processors are configured to, in response to detecting a mission cue, interrupting execution of the first instructions and executing second instructions to control the unmanned aerial vehicle to perform a first sub-mission of the overall mission. The processors are configured to after executing the second instructions, performing a second part of the overall mission by executing a second part of the first instructions.