The Little Robots That Could

NASA sent two robotic rovers to Mars in early 2004 for what was expected to be an approximately 90 day mission. That is about the best they hoped they could get out of the little robots, named Opportunity and Spirit. Martian conditions were so harsh, that it was assumed both of the explorers would succumb in three month. They were wrong. More than 900 days later the rovers are still functioning and still gathering data. One of the rovers, Opportunity, is about to gather some of the most important pictures yet sent back.

After enduring an 18-month trek through rugged terrain, dust devils and daily temperature swings approaching 200 degrees, the rover is scheduled to arrive today within easy lens view of a deep and geologically revealing crater. By tomorrow, if all goes well, the little robot that could will be right at Victoria Crater's edge and in position to peer inside and send back images like none seen before.

"Exploring Victoria is something we joked and fantasized about but never really thought we could realistically get to it," said Steven Squyres of Cornell University, principal investigator for the rovers' science instruments. "This is the absolutely highest-priority destination we could have reached."

The reason is that Victoria is an impact crater about 200 feet deep and half a mile wide, with sheer cliffs and layers upon layers of exposed rock. Before Victoria, the deepest crater the rover visited was Endurance, which is a mere 23 feet deep.

The scientists think Victoria Crater is the kind of geological formation that can tell them a great deal about Mars's history, and especially about whether and when water may have covered parts of the planet. Water is essential for life as we know it.

"Reaching Victoria Crater is like finding a Martian history book," said John Callas, rover project manager at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., where the rovers were designed and built. "There are so many more exposed layers than we've seen before on Mars, and geologists are very excited about what we might be soon seeing."

The tricky part now is getting as close as possible to the lip of the crater without falling in. While this would be difficult under optimal conditions it is even more of a challenge right now since Mars is 250 million miles away at present. Read the whole thing if you get a chance. It's fascinating. And kudos to NASA and to the team operating the little robots that could.

Other Links to this Post

1. Blue Crab Boulevard » Blog Archive » The Rim Of Opportunity — Wednesday, 27 September , 2006 @ 7:53 pm