In 2003, two Mars Exploration Rovers launched towards Mars. These exploration rovers, aptly named Spirit and Opportunity, were part of a larger program called the Mars Exploration Program. This NASA program has sent three rovers to Mars including the two Viking landers in 1976 and the Pathfinder in 1997. One of the main goals of this project has been to explore the martian landscape and find clues that could lead to past water activity on Mars. Although the past Viking and Pathfinder rovers have made significant headway in this process, the Spirit and Opportunity Rovers are clearly the most advanced and capable rovers to accomplish this goal.
Significant research, preparation, and funds went into the construction and launch of the Spirit and Opportunity rovers. The estimated cost of building, launching and landing the rovers on Mars was $820 million for the initial mission, not to mention the years of planning and research that was part of the process. The rovers were built with solar panels as well as a battery in order to keep running. They are 5 feet tall, 7 and a half feet wide, about 5 feet long and weigh almost 400 pounds. Due to the large dimensions of the rovers, they cannot move at a very high speed. At maximum speed, the rovers move about 2 inches per second. However, about every 10 to 20 seconds they have to stop and reassess their position so it takes a significant amount of time to get from one place to another.
Rover Dimensions Diagram
Scientists spent years planning out exactly how the rovers would make there way to and land on Mars in the safest way possible. The actual landing on the surface was one of the most complicated parts of the plan. A parachute that had 48 suspension lines and has a load of 85 kilonewtons (when fully inflated) was designed to ease the rover’s descent onto the surface. Retrorockets were also used to guide the rover onto the surface. These rockets were necessary due to the fact that the parachute alone could not bring the rovers to a slow enough landing speed. After all of these crucial calculations were solved, the rovers were finally set to launch in the summer of 2003.
Spirit and Opportunity launched towards Mars on June 10 and July 7,respectively. These rovers landed on Mars in January of 2004 and began the large tasks that lay ahead of them. Beginning on opposite sides of Mars in areas where water was theorized to have been in the past, the first objective was to take detailed pictures of the surface. Spirit and Opportunity took panoramic images that allowed scientists on Earth to decide where to go next with the mission. The Rovers then visited various sites and performed geological investigations. They have a highly complex movable arm and an array of tools ranging from X-Ray spectrometers to microscopic imagers. This technology has lead to numerous geological findings. In March of 2004 the Spirit rover found traces of water history in a rock called “Humphrey”. Opportunity found rocks with the same water-like qualities on the other side of the planet. These findings hve led researchers to believe that there definitely was once running water on Mars. This observation, in turn, has led many to consider the possibility that there once could have been life on Mars. The original plan was for the rovers to be on Mars for only 90 days, but the rovers have now been on Mars for 5 years and are still running. They have received a mission extension that should let them run through 2009. Due to the great success of the Mars Exploration Program, scientists are working on a project called the MAVEN (Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution) spacecraft, which will study the atmosphere of Mars. These Martian exploration projects help us to observe Mars and study the possibility of past life on the red planet.
Also, my sources used were Wikipedia, www.nasa.gov,
http://marsrovers.nasa.gov/home/index.html
http://hobbiton.thisside.net/rovermanual/
http://news.softpedia.com/news/NASA-039-s-Next-Mission-On-Mars-Will-Be-MAVEN-93724.shtml
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