As we ooh and aah over Curiosity’s plus-sized tire marks in the Mars regolith, it’s time to reminisce about the little rover that started it all in 1997: Sojourner. To quote Discovery News’ space historian Amy Shira Teitel: The first picture offering incontrovertible visual evidence that all six wheels were on the surface came shortly thereafter. The camera on the Pathfinder lander snapped the rover a few inches beyond the ramp. For the first time, mission scientists could see the site of remote analysis; the soil underneath the rover was the site of its first spectroscopic measurements. Sojourner looked around it’s new home. It sent images to Earth taken with two cameras so engineers would have a sense of perspective when planning the rover’s path. The little rover didn’t have the sophisticated autonomy of Spirit, Opportunity, or Curiosity so relied almost entirely on its Earthbound driver.  Read more…

As we ooh and aah over Curiosity’s plus-sized tire marks in the Mars regolith, it’s time to reminisce about the little rover that started it all in 1997: Sojourner.

To quote Discovery News’ space historian Amy Shira Teitel:

The first picture offering incontrovertible visual evidence that all six wheels were on the surface came shortly thereafter. The camera on the Pathfinder lander snapped the rover a few inches beyond the ramp. For the first time, mission scientists could see the site of remote analysis; the soil underneath the rover was the site of its first spectroscopic measurements. Sojourner looked around it’s new home. It sent images to Earth taken with two cameras so engineers would have a sense of perspective when planning the rover’s path. The little rover didn’t have the sophisticated autonomy of Spirit, Opportunity, or Curiosity so relied almost entirely on its Earthbound driver. 

Read more…

Source: news.discovery.com

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    I tried to make a rover at the Science Center. It failed miserably.
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    As we ooh and aah over Curiosity’s plus-sized tire marks in the Mars regolith, it’s time to reminisce about the little...
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    Cute li’l guy. So helpless all on his own.
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    awwww
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