[meteorite-list] Red Rovers: From Dry Lakes On Earth To Dry Lakes On Mars

From: Ron Baalke <baalke_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu Apr 22 10:32:10 2004
Message-ID: <200401281821.KAA04768_at_zagami.jpl.nasa.gov>

http://www.spacedaily.com/news/mars-mers-04zg.html

Red Rovers: From Dry Lakes On Earth To Dry Lakes On Mars
by Gray Creech for Dryden Flight Research Center
January 21, 2004

Edwards AFB - Before NASA's first successful
Mars Exploration Rover landed on the planet Mars January 3, 2004, a
rover prototype helped refine navigational software at a unique
site on Earth that replicates Martian terrain.

When NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) engineers in
Pasadena, Calif., started looking for suitable, Mars-like terrain to
try out the navigation software aboard an earthbound prototype
rover, they picked the edge of a dry lakebed at NASA's Dryden Flight
Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif.

NASA Dryden and Edwards are located at Rogers Dry Lake, a hard and
huge desert surface perfect for emergency landings of exotic experimental
aircraft. That's why the Air Force originally chose the site to test new
experimental jets during World War II. A short while later, and for the same
reasons, NASA's predecessor, the National Advisory Committee for
Aeronautics, set up shop at the edge of the lakebed.

Visible from space, Rogers Dry Lake, with an area of 44 square miles, is
the largest of many dry lakes in California's Mojave Desert. It is a National
Historic Landmark because of its role in the development of the nation's
aerospace achievements. Early Space Shuttle flights landed on Rogers Dry
Lake. At one time the lakebed contained water year round, but due to
changing geographical and weather patterns, it is hard and dry most of the
year, holding shallow water only briefly after infrequent desert rains.

Last June, even after the first rover, Spirit, was well on its way to the Red
Planet to land in Gusev Crater, believed by scientists to contain a dry
lakebed similar to ones on Earth, JPL engineers put the prototype through
its paces at Rogers Lake. Researchers had the prototype determine its own
location, navigate around and over small hills, and maneuvering to avoid
obstacles.

Before heading out for Mars, much rover evaluation had already been
accomplished. Many thousands of hours of research and labor went into
assuring the twin Mars rovers have the best possible chances for success.

The rover team learned valuable lessons through the Rogers Lake
evaluations, as they continued polishing the software. Their success in the
desert provided more confidence in the software for the tremendous
challenge of directing both rovers in the exploration of Mars.

The refining of the rovers' software continued after launch on their
seven-month journeys, because new commands can be sent to the rovers
from Earth even after they have landed on Mars. If needed, a total software
reload can be accomplished from Earth.
Received on Wed 28 Jan 2004 01:21:34 PM PST