NASA PLANS TO SEND ROVER TWINS TO MARS IN 2003
The traffic on Mars is expected to double in the
near future. NASA today announced plans to launch two large scientific rovers to the red
planet in 2003, rather than the original plan for just one, said Dr. Ed Weiler, Associate
Administrator for Space Science, NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC. Both Mars rovers
currently are planned for launch on Delta II rockets from Cape Canaveral Air Force
Station, FL. The first mission is targeted for May 22, with the second launch slated for
June 4. After a seven-and-a-half month cruise, the first rover should enter Mars'
atmosphere January 2, 2004, with the second rover bouncing to a stop on the Martian
surface January 20. The rovers will be exact duplicates, but that's where the similarities
end. Relatives of the highly successful 1997 Sojourner rover, these 300-pound mobile
laboratories may look and act alike, but they're going to decidedly different locations.
"For the first time, science and technology have given us the capability to explore
alien planets in ways that used to exist only in science fiction movies," said Dr.
Weiler. "To have two rovers driving over dramatically different regions of Mars at
the same time, to be able to drive over and see what's on the other side of the hill --
it's an incredibly exciting idea." Dr. Weiler added, "I think everyone on Earth
who has ever dreamed of being an explorer on an alien planet will want to go along for the
ride as we explore the surface of Mars." Scott Hubbard, Mars Program Director at NASA
Headquarters said, "For the past few weeks NASA has been undertaking an extensive
study of a two-lander option. Hubbard added, "The scientific appeal of using the
excellent launch opportunity in 2003 for two missions was weighed carefully against the
resource requirements and schedule constraints." "Our teams concluded that we
can successfully develop and launch these identical packages to the red planet,"
continued Hubbard. "We also determined that, in addition to the prospect of doubling
our scientific return, this two-pronged approach adds resiliency and robustness to our
exploration program." "Mars is a beguiling place, and conducting a real mobile
field-geology mission is always better when there are multiple perspectives," said
Dr. Jim Garvin, Mars Program Scientist at NASA Headquarters. However, the landing sites
have yet to be selected. "We are thinking about localities where there is evidence of
surface processes involving what we might call 'past' water on Mars," Dr. Garvin
continued. "This includes sites where we have today mineralogical evidence that water
may have produced unique chemical fingerprints, as well as places where it seems likely
water 'ponded' in closed depressions for enough time to modify the regional geology,"
added Dr. Garvin. During the next two to three years, engineers and scientists will
conduct an intensive search for potential touchdown sites. Using the flood of data still
coming in from Mars Global Surveyor, and that expected starting in 2002 from the Mars 2001
Orbiter, scientists will search for compelling landing zones with the fewest hazards and
select the best candidates. "The goal of both rovers will be to learn about ancient
water and climate on Mars," said Professor Steven Squyres, Cornell University,
Ithaca, NY, and Principal Investigator for the rovers' Athena science package. "You
can think of each rover as a robotic field geologist, equipped to read the geologic record
at its landing site and to learn what the conditions were like back when the rocks and
soils there were formed." Given the high priority NASA and the Administration assign
to the Space Science program overall, and to the timely exploration of Mars, the Agency
proposes that Space Science cover any additional costs of the first rover mission, and
that the bulk of the cost for the second lander be reallocated from programs outside Space
Science. The Mars 2003 Rover project will be managed at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory
(JPL), Pasadena, CA, for the Office of Space Science. Firouz Naderi is the Mars Program
Manager at JPL, which is a division of Caltech.
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