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Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter: Fall 2004 Update - January 11, 2005
Less than a year before the launch of the largest spacecraft ever sent to Mars, engineers and technicians at Lockheed Martin were busily assembling the spacecraft while engineers and scientists at JPL were moving into their operations space.
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Rotating for Even Sharper Images - September 27, 2004
This animation portrays the movements that NASA's Mars Global Surveyor undergoes to acquire an
enhanced-resolution image using a technique called compensated pitch and roll
targeted observation.
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Driving Uphill Backwards - August 09, 2004
With Spirit's right front wheel showing signs of age, engineers are finding creative ways to keep the rover moving. Teamwork is essential. Learn how they go about it in their own words.
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Testing Spirit on Five Wheels in Reverse - July 16, 2004
This movie shows a model of the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit being tested for performance on five wheels at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Spirit's right front wheel, now operating at six times its design life, has been showing signs of age, so rover planners had to come up with a new approach to driving.
This particular test shows rover engineers driving a rover model backward on five wheels. On July 15, 2004, Spirit successfully rolled across the surface of Mars in this new, backward orientation.
Image credit: NASA/JPL
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Testing Spirit on Five Wheels Moving Forward - July 16, 2004
This movie shows a model of the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit being tested for performance on five wheels at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Spirit's right front wheel, now operating at six times its design life, has been showing signs of age, so rover planners had to come up with a new approach to driving.
This particular test shows rover engineers driving a rover model forward on five wheels. Because the test rover automatically veered toward the faulty wheel, rover engineers also came up with some creative commands that allowed the rover to autocorrect itself to a limited degree. Those commands have been implemented in the test shown here.
Ultimately, it was decided that Spirit would drive backward on five wheels for three reasons: wheel resistance is lower; the rover makes faster progress; and driving is more efficient.
On July 15, 2004, Spirit successfully rolled across the surface of Mars in its new, backward orientation.
Image credit: NASA/JPL
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Testing Spirit on Five Wheels in Reverse - 2 - July 16, 2004
This movie shows a model of the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit being tested for performance on five wheels at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Spirit's right front wheel, now operating at six times its design life, has been showing signs of age, so rover planners had to come up with a new approach to driving.
This particular test shows rover engineers driving a rover model backward on five wheels. Because the test rover automatically veered toward the faulty wheel, rover engineers also came up with some creative commands that allowed the rover to autocorrect itself to a limited degree. Those commands have been implemented in the test shown here.
On July 15, 2004, Spirit successfully rolled across the surface of Mars in this new, backward orientation.
Image credit: NASA/JPL
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Testing Spirit on Five Wheels Uphill - July 16, 2004
This movie shows a model of the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit being tested for performance on five wheels at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Spirit's right front wheel, now operating at six times its design life, has been showing signs of age, so rover planners had to come up with a new approach to driving.
This particular test shows rover engineers driving a rover model backward on five wheels up a slope of 7.5 degrees. Spirit may ultimately drive up similar slopes on its way into the "Columbia Hills."
On July 15, 2004, Spirit successfully rolled across the surface of Mars in its new, backward orientation.
Image credit: NASA/JPL
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Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Animation - June 07, 2004
To further our global perspective of Mars and its watery past,
the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter will reveal the red planet like never before. After a seven-month cruise
to Mars and six months of aerobraking to reach its science orbit, the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter's
instruments will zoom in for extreme close-up photography of the martian surface, analyze minerals,
look for subsurface water, trace how much dust and water are distributed in the atmosphere, monitor
daily global weather and survey the surface for landing sites for future missions.
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Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Animation - June 07, 2004
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Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Animation - June 07, 2004
Part 2: Aerobraking to Mission Simulation and Objectives
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Simulation of the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Deploying its High-Gain Antenna
- July 07, 2004
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Simulation of the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Deploying its Solar Panels
- July 07, 2004
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Mars on Earth II - June 21, 2004
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Entering Endurance Crater - June 21, 2004
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Mars Exploration: A Framework For The Future - May 18, 2004
From the fly-by missions of the 1960s to the landed rovers of today, NASA has, for decades, endeavored to unveil the mystery of our neighboring planet. With the success of the Mars Exploration Rovers Spirit and Opportunity, the red planet's allure has intensified. With planned missions scheduled through 2009, NASA has structured a solid framework for comprehensive investigation of the planet that will lay the groundwork for future sample returns and even human missions.
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Mars on Earth - April 23, 2004
In many ways, Mars is the most Earth-like of the other planets in our solar system. Learn how scientists can interpret what they see on Mars by following geologist Jim Garvin, Mars lead scientist for NASA, on a virtual tour of Surtsey, a recently formed volcanic island in Iceland.
Image Credit: NASA/JPL
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Watch "Impact to Egress" video
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Impact to Egress - December 24, 2003
Even after the landers and airbags safely bounce to a complete stop on Mars, the challenges of getting to Mars continue. It will take each rover a minimum of nine days to emerge from its lander cocoon, stand up, orient itself, safely unlock its body from the lander, and roll down to the martian ground. In this last episode of the Challenges of Getting to Mars video series, the rover team describes the Impact to Egress phase of getting six wheels on the surface.
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First Person - Ayanna Howard - August 20, 2003
JPL robotics engineer Dr. Ayanna Howard explains how engineers design and test rovers that may one day go to Mars.
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Convoy - June 02, 2003
Ride along with the convoy that transported the Mars Exploration Rover to the launch facility.
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Wheels in the Sky - May 30, 2003
Randy Lindemann, Mars Exploration Rover Mechanical Lead, discusses the design of the rover's wheels.
Read more about the wheels
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Rover Mission to Mars Animation - 2002
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MER Launch and Cruise - 2002
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Rover Entry, Descent and Landing on Mars - 2002
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Exploring the Martian Surface - 2002
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Mars Exploration Rover First Steps - 11/06/2002
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Imagine Mars Web Cast: December 13, 2002
Join educators, students and special host, Emmy Award-winning
Bill Nye, The Science Guy, as they explore what a community might
be like on Mars during this entertaining and interactive Web cast. Then
follow along as renowned choreographer, Debbie Allen, leads
dancers and Mars scientists through an exploration of how the
gravity and environment of Mars would affect dance and movement.
[MORE...]
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RealVideo
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Mars Odyssey Web Cast: November 14, 2002
Scientists explain Odyssey's initial discoveries and take questions
from schools, museums, and employees at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory
during a live interactive web cast broadcasted from JPL's von Karman auditorium.
[MORE...]
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Mars Student Imaging Project
The Mars Student Imaging Project allows students from the fifth
grade through community college to take their own pictures of Mars
using a thermal infrared visible camera system onboard NASA's Mars
Odyssey spacecraft, which is currently circling the red planet.
[MORE...]
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Flash Presentation
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Pathfinder's 5th Anniversary
On Friday, July 4, 1997, American flags dressed the nation in a giant Independence Day celebration. It was National Hot Dog Month, and an estimated 155 million hot dogs hit the grill that weekend alone. Space must have been on moviegoers minds, as the alien flick "Men in Black" took in a whopping $84 million during its holiday opening.
[MORE...]
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Odyssey's Gamma Ray Spectrometer Instrument Deployed
Flight controllers for NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft completed the last major technical milestone today in support of the science mission by unfurling the boom that holds the gamma ray spectrometer sensor head instrument.
[MORE...]
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Sending RATs to Mars
NASA and JPL are sending RATS to Mars to work as field geologists. A
RAT is not quite a furry little friend, but rather a high-tech robot with
diamond teeth, called a Rock Abrasion Tool (RAT).
....[MORE...]
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Mars Odyssey Observes First Anniversary in Space
What a year this has been for the Mars Odyssey team!
The excitement of launch last April 7, the arrival at Mars, the long,
sometimes tedious aerobraking concluded so successfully, the beginning
of the mapping phase ....[MORE...]
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How to Land Softly on a Hard Planet
Just one of the many problems in landing on another planet, after it's
been determined where to land and the method to get there, is landing
safely. For NASA'a Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a safe landing is
"the name of the game," as engineers work to prepare
two rovers for the journey to Mars.
[MORE...]
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Long-time Mission Manager Dreams of Humans Exploring Mars Someday
After spending a career in planetary exploration, Charley Kohlhase
dreams not of the past, but of the future. What does he envision
someday? Humans living on Mars, continuing to study the planet in
great detail. Of course, NASA has a lot of work to do before human
missions are possible, but today's robotic missions are paving the way
by helping us understand the Martian environment and its potential
impact on human health. Once we learn more, Kohlhase believes,
the spirit of exploration will make Mars an irresistible destination for
future astronauts.
[MORE...]
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Happy Navigators Prepare to Say "Goodnight and Goodbye" to Odyssey's Successful Aerobraking
With the successful completion of the aerobraking effort, the Odyssey
navigation team is leaving a legacy of well-honed interdisciplinary
tools and techniques certain to be used on future missions using
aerobraking. [MORE...]
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Robotic Workers
NASA researchers have successfully demonstrated the first use
of multiple rovers that work tightly in sync to perform tasks
such as coordinated grasping, lifting and moving of an
extended payload, while navigating through obstacles on
natural terrain.
[MORE...]
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New Rover Design Videos
NASA researchers are developing new prototype robots that can
drive up steep hills and descend almost-vertical cliffs. Working alone
or as a team, these autonomous robotic explorers may go where no
rover has gone before -- the cliffs of Mars.
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Machinists to the Stars
It's the middle of the night at JPL, and the usual dozens of deer are
on their nightly foraging rounds across the campus. Mars is up. So is
the Moon. And so are nine machinists in the lab's high-precision
fabrication shop, working the second shift that ends between
midnight and 3 a.m. They are part of the round-the-clock team
turning out odd-shaped pieces of metal that will become robots
destined for Mars.
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Mars Orbit Insertion
Experience a computer-generated animation of the Odyssey spacecraft
on its voyage to the red planet. This
animation covers its journey from Earth to Mars, Orbit Insertion,
and Aerobraking.
Spacecraft animations by Zareh Gorjian
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The Challenges of Getting to Mars
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Orbit Insertion
Getting to Mars is difficult enough -- staying there is even more
challenging. Odyssey met up with Mars on October 24 02:26 UTC
(October 23: 7:26 p.m. PDT/10:26 p.m.EDT). That's when the spacecraft
executed an engine firing that slowed it down (relative to Mars)
and allowed Odyssey to be captured into orbit around Mars. In this
final episode,
Odyssey team members explain their rigorous preparations for the event.
NASA TV will begin coverage at 7 p.m. PDT October 23.
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Telecommunications
How do you converse with a robot nearly one hundred million miles away? In
this video, Odyssey team members describe communications with the
2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft using the antennas of the Deep Space
Network.
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Interplanetary Cruise
At the time this video was released,
the Odyssey team had successfully completed
the third trajectory correction maneuver to adjust the spacecraft's
flightpath toward its final aimpoint for entry into Mars orbit. In
the second installment of a four-part video series, The Challenges
of Getting to Mars, Odyssey navigation team members discuss
the challenges of flying from Earth to Mars.
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Aerobraking
The Odyssey spacecraft was launched
toward Mars on April 7, 2001 from Cape Canaveral, Florida.
In this four-part video series, Odyssey navigation team members
explain the daily challenges of steering a spacecraft 93 million
miles from Earth to Mars.
The first episode describes the intense
aerobraking phase,
which begins two days after the spacecraft arrives at Mars
(Mars Orbit Insertion, October 24, 2001). From then on,
navigation team members still have three months of difficult
maneuvering to do in order to slow the spacecraft down and
bring Odyssey into its circular science mapping orbit. Using
atmospheric drag to "aerobrake," the spacecraft
dips into the Martian atmosphere once every time the spacecraft
swings by its closest approach to Mars.
Future episodes discuss the hostile conditions the spacecraft
encounters on its journey to Mars, the challenges of
communicating with a distant spacecraft, and the upcoming
critical event: Mars Orbit Insertion.
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Fourth of July Tribute to Pathfinder
Four years ago, on July 4, 1997,
Mars Pathfinder
bounced in airbags to a safe landing on the red
planet. A tremendous success, the mission lasted three times
longer than expected, with the Sojourner rover operating 12 times
its design lifetime of seven days. Little Sojourner was the first
free-ranging robotic rover to operate on the surface of another
planet. With Sojourner's help, the mission returned 2.3 billion
bits of information, including more than 16,500 images from the
lander and 550 images from the rover. From this information,
we learned that Mars probably had liquid water on its surface
long ago. View our tribute video in RealPlayer format.
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Journey to Mars
Is there water on Mars? Where might there
have been life? What do we know about Mars, and what are we trying to
find out? Take this Journey to Mars with Dr. Dan McCleese, Mars
Chief Scientist, as he narrates this multimedia presentation on the
past, present and future of Mars exploration. Available in a 3.5 MB
Flash 4,
or QuickTime 5
file. It will take approximately ten minutes to download
on a 56k modem.
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