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JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH, VOL. 108, NO. E12, 8061, doi:10.1029/2002JE002038, 2003

Mars Exploration Rover mission

Joy A. Crisp

Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA


Mark Adler

Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA


Jacob R. Matijevic

Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA


Steven W. Squyres

Department of Astronomy, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA


Raymond E. Arvidson

McDonnell Center for the Space Sciences, Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri, USA


David M. Kass

Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA


Abstract

In January 2004 the Mars Exploration Rover mission will land two rovers at two different landing sites that show possible evidence for past liquid-water activity. The spacecraft design is based on the Mars Pathfinder configuration for cruise and entry, descent, and landing. Each of the identical rovers is equipped with a science payload of two remote-sensing instruments that will view the surrounding terrain from the top of a mast, a robotic arm that can place three instruments and a rock abrasion tool on selected rock and soil samples, and several onboard magnets and calibration targets. Engineering sensors and components useful for science investigations include stereo navigation cameras, stereo hazard cameras in front and rear, wheel motors, wheel motor current and voltage, the wheels themselves for digging, gyros, accelerometers, and reference solar cell readings. Mission operations will allow commanding of the rover each Martian day, or sol, on the basis of the previous sol's data. Over a 90-sol mission lifetime, the rovers are expected to drive hundreds of meters while carrying out field geology investigations, exploration, and atmospheric characterization. The data products will be delivered to the Planetary Data System as integrated batch archives.

Received 23 December 2002; accepted 6 May 2003; published 24 October 2003.

Index Terms: 6225 Planetology: Solar System Objects: Mars; 5470 Planetology: Solid Surface Planets: Surface materials and properties; 5464 Planetology: Solid Surface Planets: Remote sensing; 3672 Mineralogy and Petrology: Planetary mineralogy and petrology (5410); 5499 Planetology: Solid Surface Planets: General or miscellaneous.

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Citation: Crisp, J. A., M. Adler, J. R. Matijevic, S. W. Squyres, R. E. Arvidson, and D. M. Kass (2003), Mars Exploration Rover mission, J. Geophys. Res., 108(E12), 8061, doi:10.1029/2002JE002038.