Mars Rovers: Pathfinder, MER (Spirit and Opportunity), and MSL

Here are models of three different Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) Mars rovers. The small one is Pathfinder, sent to Mars in 1996. The middle is a model of one of two rovers still working on mars, Spirit and Opportunity. And the largest is a model of the Mars Science Laboratory, a future mars rover which is scheduled to launch in the fall of 2011 (originally scheduled for 2009), arriving on Mars in October 2010. JPL is located in Pasadena California, home of the Rose Bowl and Rose Parade.

I'm a Unix Systems Administrator (and Linux fanatic) at JPL and was lucky enough to work on a project that helped map the landing area for the MER mission.

More at http://www.kevitivity.com

Mars Pathfinder: http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/MPF/
Spirit and Opportunity (MER): http://marsrover.nasa.gov/home/
Mars Science Lab website: http://marsprogram.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/

Radar Astronomy at JPL (my group): http://gssr.jpl.nasa.gov/

• Category

  Science & Technology

[CaptainScarlet2006]

are those rovers made by NASA ?

[Kevitivity]

JPL is part of NASA, so yes.

[r90sfan]

"Let's see if we can make them bigger." - General Motors

[Ichiro Taniguchi]

Wall-E!

[Tony Mach]

It just hit me: Landing, with mindblowing pin-point precision, on another fricking planet, using a rocket-powered sky-crane, in the outskirts of an eon-old alluvial fan (detected FROM SPACE!) a remote controlled, nuclear powered, LASER-shooting vehicle – and then finding gravel from an billions year old riverbed. Does it get any cooler than that? Seriously?

Anybody who has the honor to contribute to this has may full envy.

[ultrabaiter]

Actually its the size of Sojourner that surprised me the most here.

Its much larger than I thought ti was.

[rockerseven]

and i thought spirit and opportunity were huge when they were revealed lol

next up for NASA, landing a rover the size of a motor home!

[YouKnowIt514]

I would have liked to see all three of them race up the stairs

[Peter Valoczi]

Now have dragrace!

[Kg277]

Its gonna crash

[kdum8]

Great to see them lined up, and good choice of music. NASA really does robotic missions better than anyone else. Here's to MSL success in 2012!

[becausestair]

holst!



[Rg2732]

Yep. Most interesting choice

[onefugowie]

the new one there sending in November is that much larger than the ones there now..??i had no idea the size diference