X-Nico

5 unusual facts about Mars Exploration Rover


Planetary Science Decadal Survey

The survey placed heavy emphasis on Mars exploration including the Mars Exploration Rovers, established of the New Frontiers program including New Horizons mission to study Pluto and established programs in power and propulsion to lay a technological basis for programs in later decades including manned missions beyond Earth orbit.

Syd Lieberman

In late 2003, NASA and the International Storytelling Center commissioned Lieberman to tell the story of the Mars Exploration Mission.

Timekeeping on Mars

For the Mars Pathfinder, Mars Exploration Rover, Phoenix, and Mars Science Laboratory missions, the operations team has worked on "Mars time", with a work schedule synchronized to the local time at the landing site on Mars, rather than the Earth day.

At the start of the Mars Exploration Rover missions, the positional uncertainty of Airy-0 corresponded to roughly a 20 second uncertainty in realizing AMT.

Viking spacecraft biological experiments

Mars Pathfinder's Sojourner rover and the Mars Exploration Rovers each used this landing technique successfully.


Fumarole

The formation called Home Plate at Gusev Crater on Mars which was examined by the Mars Exploration Rover (MER) Spirit is suspected to be the eroded remains of an ancient and extinct fumarole.

NASA Academy

Chris Lewicki, President and Chief Engineer at Planetary Resources, formerly Mars Exploration Rover Flight Director, and the first person to drive the MER rovers on Mars

Rocker-bogie

The Rocker-Bogie system is the suspension arrangement used in the Mars rovers (mechanical robot) introduced for the Mars Pathfinder and also used on the Mars Exploration Rover (MER) and Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) missions.


see also

Wop May

On October 6, 2004, NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity located a rock on the south slope of the Endurance Crater on Mars.