The Mars Pathfinder was a NASA mission to explore Mars. It was an example of a "faster, better, cheaper" space program. Earlier missions to Mars had failed (the $1 billion Mars Observer spacecraft was lost) or were very expensive(Viking 1 & 2 cost $3 billion in 1997 dollars). NASA needed to try a new way to explore the planet. $266 million was budgeted for the project.

In 1994, a NASA team led by Donna Shirley began to plan the project. They designed a rover vehicle that would travel and analyze rocks on the surface of Mars. The rover was named Sojourner after Sojourner Truth, a American woman who worked for women’s rights and the emancipation of slaves in the 1860’s. The Sojourner would be transported to Mars inside a lander called Pathfinder. A Delta II 7925 rocket was used to get Pathfinder on its way to Mars. After it was out of Earth’s gravitational   reach, the spacecraft cruised to Mars.

This trip to Mars required NASA to figure out new ways to land spacecraft. A parachute and a group of air bags would cushion the landing. The steps in the landing were very interesting.

One and 1/2 hours after landing, the air bags deflated and retracted.  The solar panels opened like a flower. The landing was a success! Inside were the Sojourner, an antennae, a camera, and weather instruments. The Sojourner and the lander could take pictures of Mars.

The Sojourner had an X-ray spectrometer, six wheels with spikes, a solar panel, an antennae, lasers, insulation and heaters to protect the electrical parts. The entire rover was 2 feet (0.6 m) long, 1 1/2 feet (4.5 m) wide, and 1 foot (0.3 m) tall. It weighed about 23 pounds (10.4 kg).

Sojourner could steer in two ways. One was by using its own navigation equipment. On Earth, a scientist could also control Sojourner’s actions by using 3-D glasses and a computer to steer. It took ten minutes for instructions to travel from Earth to Mars. Top rover speed was two feet (0.6 m)/minute.

For 83 Martian days (until September 27, 1997), scientists learned about the planet from pictures and rock and soil analysis. The rover visited rocks in the area of the lander. Some of the rocks were given funny names like Scooby Doo, Casper, Yogi, and Barnacle Bill. Scientists learned that Mars had a flood a long time ago and that some of the rocks were not as old as others and may have come from an asteroid which hit the planet.

To honor the famous astronomer, Carl Sagan, the Pathfinder was renamed the Carl Sagan Memorial Station. Carl Sagan was interested in exploring space and Mars.

The entire Mars mission was a success. Future missions will bring us more information about Mars.

If you want to see some 3-D pictures of Mars, get a copy of National Geographic, August, 1998. These pictures are neat!

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