MARS EXPLORATION ROVER

1. INTRODUCTION
NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Mission (MER) is an ongoing robotic space
mission involving two rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, exploring the planet Mars. It began in
2003 with the sending of the two roversMER-A Spirit and MER-B Opportunityto
explore the Martian surface and geology.
The mission's scientific objective was to search for and characterize a wide range
of rocks and soils that hold clues to past water activity on Mars. The mission is part of
NASA's Mars Exploration Program, which includes three previous successful landers: the
two Viking program landers in 1976 and Mars Pathfinder probe in 1997.
The total cost of building, launching, landing and operating the rovers on the surface for the
initial 90-Martian-day (sol) primary mission was US$820 million. Since the rovers have
continued to function beyond their initial 90 sol primary mission, they have each received
five mission extensions. The fifth mission extension was granted in October 2007, and ran to
the end of 2009. The total cost of the first four mission extensions was $104 million, and the
fifth mission extension is expected to cost at least $20 million.
In July 2007, during the fourth mission extension, Martian dust storms blocked sunlight to the
rovers and threatened the ability of the craft to gather energy through their solar panels,
causing engineers to fear that one or both of them might be permanently disabled. However,
the dust storms lifted, allowing them to resume operations.
On May 1, 2009, during its fifth mission extension, Spirit became stuck in soft soil on
Mars. After nearly nine months of attempts to get the rover back on track, including using test
rovers on Earth, NASA announced on January 26, 2010 that Spirit was being re tasked as a
stationary science platform. This mode would enable Spirit to assist scientists in ways that a
mobile platform could not, such as detecting "wobbles" in the planet's rotation that would
indicate a liquid core. Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) lost contact with Spirit after last
hearing from the rover on March 22, 2010 and continued attempts to regain communications
until May 25, 2011 bringing the elapsed mission time to 6 years 2 months 19 days or over 25
times the original planned mission duration. In recognition of the vast amount of scientific
information amassed by both rovers, two asteroids have been named in their honor: 37452
Spirit and 39382 Opportunity. The mission is managed for NASA by the Jet Propulsion
Laboratory, which designed, built, and is operating the rovers.

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2. MISSION OVERVIEW
The primary surface mission for Opportunity was planned to last 90 sols. The mission has
received several extensions and has been operating for 3146 days since landing. An archive
of weekly updates on the rover's status can be found at the Opportunity Update Archive.
From its initial landing, by chance, into an impact crater amidst an otherwise generally flat
plain, Opportunity has successfully investigated soil and rock samples and taken panoramic
photos of its landing site. Its sampling allowed NASA scientists to make hypotheses
concerning the presence of hematite and past presence of water on the surface of Mars.
Following this, it was directed to travel across the surface of Mars to investigate another
crater site, Endurance crater, which it investigated from June December 2004.
Subsequently, Opportunity examined the impact site of its own heat shield and discovered an
intact meteorite, now known as Heat Shield Rock, on the surface of Mars.
From late April 2005 to early June of that year, Opportunity was perilously lodged in a sand
dune, with several wheels buried in the sand. Over a six week period Earth-based physical
simulations were performed to decide how best to extract the rover from its position without
risking a permanent immobilization of the valuable vehicle. Successful maneuvering a few
centimeters at a time eventually freed the rover, which resumed its travels.
Opportunity was directed to proceed in a southerly direction to Erebus crater, a large,
shallow, partially buried crater and a stopover on the way south towards Victoria crater,
between October 2005 and March 2006. It experienced some mechanical problems with its
robotic arm.
In late September 2006, Opportunity reached Victoria crater and explored along the rim in a
clockwise direction. In June 2007 it returned to Duck Bay, its original arrival point; in
September 2007 it entered the crater to begin a detailed study.

MARS EXPLORATION ROVER

3. HISTORY
The probes were launched June and July 2003 and landed January 2004 in widely separated
equatorial places on Mars.
On January 21, 2004, the Deep Space Network lost contact with Spirit, for reasons originally
thought to be related to a thunderstorm over Australia. The rover transmitted a message with
no data, but later that day missed another communications session with the Mars Global
Surveyor. The next day, JPL received a beep from the rover, indicating that it was in fault
mode. On January 23, the flight team succeeded in making the rover send. The fault was
believed to have been caused by an error in the rover's flash memory subsystem. The rover
did not perform any scientific activities for ten days, while engineers updated its software and
ran tests. The problem was corrected by reformatting Spirit's flash memory and using
a software patch to avoid memory overload; Opportunity was also upgraded with the patch as
a precaution. Spirit returned to full scientific operations by February 5.
On March 23, 2004, a news conference was held announcing "major discoveries" of evidence
of past liquid water on the Martian surface. A delegation of scientists showed pictures and
data revealing a stratified pattern and cross bedding in the rocks of the outcrop inside a crater
in Meridiani Planum, landing site of MER-B, Opportunity. This suggested that water once
flowed in the region. The irregular distribution of chlorine and bromine also suggests that the
place was once the shoreline of a salty sea, now evaporated.
On April 8, 2004, NASA announced that it was extending the mission life of the rovers from
three to eight months. It immediately provided additional funding of US $15 million through
September, and $2.8 million per month for continuing operations. Later that
month, Opportunity arrived at Endurance crater, taking about five days to drive the 200
meters. NASA announced on September 22 that it was extending the mission life of the
rovers for another six months. Opportunity was to leave Endurance crater, visit its discarded
heat shield, and proceed to Victoria crater. Spirit was to attempt to climb to the top of
the Columbia Hills.
With the two rovers still functioning well, NASA later announced another 18 month
extension of the mission to September 2006. Opportunity was to visit the "Etched Terrain"
and Spirit was to climb a rocky slope toward the top of Husband Hill. On August 21,
2005, Spirit reached the summit of Husband Hill after 581 sols and a journey of 4.81
kilometers (2.99 mi). Spirit celebrated its one Martian year anniversary (669 sols or 687 Earth
days) on November 20, 2005.Opportunity celebrated its anniversary on December 12, 2005.
At the beginning of the mission, it was expected that the rovers would not survive much
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longer than 90 Martian days. The Columbia Hills were "just a dream", according to rover
driver Chris Leger. Spirit explored the semicircular rock formation known as Home Plate. It
is a layered rock outcrop that puzzles and excites scientists. It is thought that its rocks are
explosive volcanic deposits, though other possibilities exist, including impact deposits or
sediment borne by wind or water.
Spirit's front right wheel ceased working on March 13, 2006, while the rover was moving
itself to McCool Hill. Its drivers attempted to drag the dead wheel behind Spirit, but this only
worked until reaching an impassable sandy area on the lower slopes. Drivers
directed Spirit to a smaller sloped feature, dubbed "Low Ridge Haven", where it spent the
long Martian winter, waiting for spring and increased solar power levels suitable for driving.
That September, Opportunity reached the rim of Victoria crater, and Spaceflight Now
reported that NASA had extended mission for the two rovers through September 2007. On
February 6, 2007, Opportunity became the first spacecraft to traverse ten kilometers (10,000
meters) on the surface of Mars.

MSL mockup compared with the Mars Exploration Rover and Sojourner rover by the Jet
Propulsion Laboratory on May 12, 2008
Opportunity was poised to enter Victoria Crater from its perch on the rim of Duck Bay on
June 28, 2007, but due to extensive dust storms, it was delayed until the dust had cleared and
power returned to safe levels. Two months later, Spirit and Opportunity resumed driving after
hunkering down during raging dust storms that limited solar power to a level that nearly
caused the permanent failure of both rovers.
On October 1, 2007, both Spirit and Opportunity entered their fifth mission extension that
extended operations into 2009, allowing the rovers to have spent five years exploring the
Martian surface, pending their continued survival.
On August 26, 2008, Opportunity began its three-day climb out of Victoria crater amidst
concerns that power spikes, similar to those seen on Spirit before the failure of its right-front
wheel, might prevent it from ever being able to leave the crater if a wheel failed. Project
scientist Bruce Banerdt also said, "We've done everything we entered Victoria Crater to do
and more." Opportunity will return to the plains in order to characterize Meridiani Planum's
vast diversity of rockssome of which may have been blasted out of craters such as Victoria.
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The rover had been exploring Victoria Crater since September 11, 2007. As of January 2009,
the two rovers had collectively sent back 250,000 images and traveled over 21 kilometers
(13 mi).
After driving about 3.2 kilometers (2.0 mi) since it left Victoria crater, Opportunity first saw
the rim of Endeavour crater on March 7, 2009. It passed the 10-mile mark (16 kilometers)
along the way on sol 1897. Meanwhile, at Gusev crater, Spirit was dug in deep into the
Martian sand, much as Opportunity was at Purgatory Dune in 2005.
On January 3 and January 24, 2010, Spirit and Opportunity marked six years on Mars,
respectively. On January 26, NASA announced that Spirit will be used as a stationary
research platform after several months of unsuccessful attempts to free the rover from soft
sand.
NASA announced on March 24, 2010, that Opportunity, which has an estimated remaining
drive distance of 12 km to Endeavour Crater, has traveled over 20 km since the start of its
mission. Each rover was designed with a mission driving distance goal of just 600
meters. One week later, they announced that Spirit may have gone into hibernation for the
Martian winter and might not wake up again for months.
On September 8, 2010, it was announced that Opportunity had reached the halfway point of
the 19-kilometer journey between Victoria crater and Endeavour crater.
On May 24, 2011, NASA announced that it will cease attempts to contact Spirit, which has
been stuck in a sand trap for two years. The last successful communication with the rover was
on March 22, 2010. The final transmission to the rover was on May 25, 2011.

4.CONSTRUCTION
Opportunity (along with its twin, Spirit) is a six-wheeled, solar-powered robot standing 1.5 m
(4.9 ft) high, 2.3 m (7.5 ft) wide and 1.6 m (5.2 ft) long and weighing 180 kg (400 lb). Six
wheels on a rocker-bogie system enable mobility. Each wheel has its own motor; the vehicle
is steered at front and rear and is designed to operate safely at tilts of up to 30 degrees.
Maximum speed is 50 mm/s (2 in/s) although average speed is about a fifth of this
(0.02 mph). Both Spirit and Opportunity have pieces of the fallen World Trade Center's metal
on them which were "turned into shields to protect cables on the drilling mechanisms".
Solar arrays generate about 140 watts for up to four hours per Martian day (sol) while
rechargeable lithium ion batteries store energy for use at night. The rover's operating
temperature ranges from 40 C to +40 C (40 F to 104 F) and radioisotope provide a

MARS EXPLORATION ROVER

base level of heating, assisted by electrical heaters when necessary. A gold film and a layer of
silica aerogel provide insulation.
Communications depends on an omnidirectional low-gain antenna communicating at a low
data rate and a steerable high-gain antenna, both in direct contact with Earth. A low gain
antenna is also used to relay data to spacecraft orbiting Mars.
At the heart of each Mars Exploration Rover spacecraft is its rover. This is the mobile
geological laboratory that will study the landing site and travel to examine selected rocks up
close. The Mars Exploration Rovers differ in many ways from their only predecessor, Mars
Pathfinder's Sojourner rover. Sojourner was about 65 centimeters (2 feet) long and weighed
10 kilograms (22 pounds). Each Mars Exploration Rover is 1.6 meter (5.2 feet) long and
weighs 174 kilograms (384 pounds). Sojourner traveled a total distance equal to the length of
about one football field during its 12 weeks of activity on Mars. Each Mars Exploration
Rover is expected to travel six to 10 times that distance during its three-month prime mission.
Pathfinder's lander, not Sojourner, housed that mission's main telecommunications, camera
and computer functions. The Mars Exploration Rovers carry equipment for those functions
onboard and do not interact with their landers any further once they roll off. On each Mars
Exploration Rover, the core structure is made of composite honeycomb material insulated
with a high-tech material called aerogel. This core body, called the warm electronics box, is
topped with a triangular surface called the rover equipment deck. The deck is populated with
three antennas, a camera mast and a panel of solar cells. Additional solar panels are
connected by hinges to the edges of the triangle. The solar panels fold up to fit inside the
lander for the trip to Mars, and deploy to form a total area of 1.3 square meters (14 square
feet) of three-layer photovoltaic cells. Each layer is of different materials: gallium indium
phosphorus, gallium arsenide and germanium. The array can produce nearly 900 watt-hours
of energy per martian day, or sol. However, by the end of the 90-sol mission, the energy
generating capability is reduced to about 600 watt-hours per sol because of accumulating dust
and the change in season.
The solar array repeatedly recharges two lithium-ion batteries inside the warm electronics
box. Doing sport utility vehicles one better, each rover is equipped with six-wheel drive. A
rocker-bogie suspension system, which bends at its joints rather than using any springs,
allows rolling over rocks bigger than the wheel diameter of 26 centimeters (10 inches). The
distribution of mass on the vehicle is arranged so that the center of mass is near the pivot
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point of the rocker-bogie system. That enables the rover to tolerate a tilt of up to 45 degrees
in any direction without overturning, although onboard computers are programmed to prevent
tilts of more than 30 degrees. Independent steering of the front and rear wheels allows the
rover to turn in place or drive in gradual arcs. The rover has navigation software and hazardavoiding capabilities it can use to make its own way toward a destination identified to it in a
daily set of commands. It can move at up to 5 centimeters (2 inches) per second on flat hard
ground, but under automated control with hazard avoidance, it travels at an average speed
about one-fifth of that. Two stereo pairs of hazard-identification cameras are mounted below
the deck, one pair at the front of the rover and the other at the rear. Besides supporting
automated navigation, the one on the front also provides imaging of what the rover's arm is
doing. Two other stereo camera pairs sit high on a mast rising from the deck: the panoramic
camera included as one of the science instruments, and a wider-angle, lower-resolution
navigation camera pair. The mast also doubles as a periscope for another one of the science
instruments, the miniature thermal emission spectrometer. The rest of the science instruments
are at the end of an arm, called the "instrument deployment device," which tucks under the
front of the rover while the vehicle is traveling. The arm extends forward when the rover is in
position to examine a particular rock or patch of soil.
Batteries and other components that are not designed to survive cold martian nights reside in
the warm electronics box. Nighttime temperatures may fall as low as minus 105 C (minus
157 F). The batteries need to be kept above minus 20 C (minus 4 F) for when they are
supplying power, and above 0 C (32 F) when being recharged. Heat inside the warm
electronics box comes from a combination of electrical heaters, eight
Radioisotope heater units and heat given off by electronics components. Each radioisotope
heater unit produces about one watt of heat and contains about 2.7 rams (0.1 ounce) of
plutonium dioxide as a pellet about the size and shape of the eraser on the end of a standard
pencil. Each pellet is encapsulated in a metal cladding of platinum-rhodium alloy and
surrounded by multiple layers of carbon-graphite composite material, making the complete
unit about the size and shape of a C-cell battery. This design of multiple protective layers has
been tested extensively, and the heater units are expected to contain their plutonium dioxide
under a wide range of launch and orbital-reentry accident conditions. Other spacecraft,
including Mars Pathfinder's Sojourner rover, have used radioisotope heater units to keep
electronic systems warm and working.

MARS EXPLORATION ROVER

4.1

Science Instruments: A Geology Toolkit

Like a human field geologist, each Mars Exploration Rover has the capabilities to scout its
surroundings for interesting rocks and soils, to move to those targets and to examine their
composition and structure.
Panoramic Camera Providing the geologic context: This high-resolution stereo
camera reveals the surrounding terrain at each new location that the rover reaches. Its
two eyes sit 30 centimeters (12 inches) apart, atop a mast about 1.5 meters (5 feet)
above the ground. The instrument carries 14 different types of filters, allowing not
only full-color images but also spectral analysis of minerals and the atmosphere. Its
images are used to help select rock and soil targets for more intensive study and to
pick new regions for the rover to explore.
Supplemental Instruments Engineering tools aid science: Each rover also has
other tools that, while primarily designed for engineering use in the operation of the
rover, can also provide geological information. The navigation camera is a widerangle stereo instrument on the same mast as the panoramic camera. Hazard-avoidance
cameras ride low on the front and rear of the rover in stereo pairs to produce threedimensional information about the nearby terrain. The front pair provides information
to aid positioning of the tools mounted on the rovers arm. Rover wheels, in addition
to allowing mobility, are used to dig shallow trenches to evaluate soil properties.

MARS EXPLORATION ROVER

Each rover has three sets of Magnet Arrays that will collect airborne dust for analysis
by the science instruments. Mars is a dusty place, and some of that dust is highly
magnetic. Magnetic minerals carried in dust grains may be freezedried remnants of
the planets watery past. A periodic examination of these particles and their patterns of
accumulation on magnets of varying strength can reveal clues about their mineralogy
and the planets geologic history. One set of magnets will be carried by the rock
abrasion tool. As it grinds into martian rocks, scientists will have the opportunity to
study the properties of dust from these outer rock surfaces. A second set of two
magnets is mounted on the front of the rover for the purpose of gathering airborne
dust. These magnets will be reachable for analysis by the Mssbauer and alpha
particle X-ray spectrometers. A third magnet is mounted on the top of the rover deck
in view of the panoramic camera. This magnet is strong enough to deflect the paths of
wind-carried, magnetic dust. The magnet arrays are provided by Denmark.
Hazard-Identification Cameras ride low on the front and rear of the rover. The
cameras are in stereo pairs at each location in order to produce hreedimensional
information about the terrain before or behind the rover. Each hazard-identification
camera provides a fisheye wide-angle view about 120 degrees across. They are
sensitive to visible light and yield black-and-white pictures. Onboard navigation
software can analyze the images from these cameras to identify obstacles and avoid
them. The front pair of hazard identification cameras provides position information to
help movement of the rover's arm and placement of arm-mounted tools on target
rocks.
The Navigation Camera is another stereo pair of black-and-white cameras. Like the
panoramic camera, it sits on top of the mast and can rotate and tilt. Unlike the
panoramic camera, it shoots wider-angle images (about 45 degrees across, compared
with about 16 degrees across for the panoramic camera) and it does not have
changeable filters to produce color images. Because of its wider field of view, the
navigation camera's images can give a quick full-circle view of the surroundings at
each new location that the rover reaches, requiring less data-transmission time than
would a full-circle set of panoramic camera images. Engineers and scientists will use
those images in planning where to send the rover and where to use the science
instruments for more detailed examinations.

4.2 INSTRUMENT DEPLOYMENT DEVICES

The arm-mounted instruments will be aided by a Rock Abrasion Tool that will act as
the rover's equivalent of a geologist's rock hammer. Positioned against a rock by the
rover's instrument arm, the tool uses a grinding wheel to remove dust and weathered
rock, exposing fresh rock underneath. The tool will expose an area 4.5 centimeters (2
inches) in diameter, and grind down to a depth of as much as 5 millimeters (0.2 inch).
Alpha Particle X-Ray Spectrometer Determining the composition of rocks: An
improved version of an instrument used by the Sojourner rover, this spectrometer is
also similar to instruments used in geology labs on Earth. It uses small amounts of
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curium-244 in measuring the concentrations of most major elements in rocks and soil.
Learning the elemental ingredients in rocks and soils helps scientists understand the
samples origins and how they have been altered over time.
Each spacecraft has one more camera on the underside of the lander as a key
component in what is called the Descent Image Motion Estimation Subsystem. The
main purpose of this camera is to aid in safe landing by providing information about
how fast the spacecraft is moving horizontally in the final half-minute of its descent.
It will take a total of three black-and-white images it takes from altitudes of up to
about 2.4 kilometers (1.5 miles) above ground, which may also provide scientists
with a broader geological context about the landing site.
Moessbauer Spectrometer Identifying iron-bearing minerals: Mounted on the
rover arm, this instrument is placed against rock and soil targets. It identifies minerals
that contain iron, which helps scientists evaluate what role water played in the
formation of the targets and discern the extent to which rocks have been weathered.
The instrument uses two cobalt-57 sources, each about the size of a pencil eraser, in
calibrating its measurements. It is a miniaturized version of spectrometers used by
geologists to study rocks and soils on Earth.
Miniature Thermal Emission Spectrometer
Identifying minerals at the site: This instrument views the surrounding scene in
infrared wavelengths, determining types and amounts of many different kinds of
minerals. A particular goal is to search for distinctive minerals that are formed by the
action of water. The spectrometer scans to build up an image. Data from it and from
the panoramic camera are used in choosing science targets and new areas to explore.
Scientists also use it in studies of Mars atmosphere.

4.3 COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS

The spacecraft used a high-frequency X band radio wavelength to communicate, which
allowed for less power and smaller antennas than many older craft, which used S band.
Navigators sent commands through two antennas on the cruise stage: a cruise low-gain
antenna mounted inside the inner ring, and a cruise medium-gain antenna in the outer ring.
The low-gain antenna was used close to Earth. It is omni-directional, so the transmission
power that reached Earth fell faster with increasing distance. As the craft moved closer to
Mars, the Sun and Earth moved closer in the sky as viewed from the craft, so less energy
reached Earth. The spacecraft then switched to the medium-gain antenna, which directed the
same amount of transmission power into a tighter beam toward Earth.

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During flight, the spacecraft was spin-stabilized with a spin rate of two revolutions per
minute (rpm). Periodic updates kept antennas pointed toward Earth and solar panels toward
the Sun.
The rover has an X-Band low-gain and an X-Band high-gain antenna for communications to
and from the Earth, as well as a UHF monopole antenna for relay communications. The lowgain antenna is omnidirectional, and transmits data at a low rate to Deep Space
Network (DSN) antennas on Earth. The high-gain antenna is directional and steerable, and
can transmit data to Earth at a higher rate. The rovers use the UHF monopole and its CE505
radio to communicate with spacecraft orbiting Mars, the Mars Odyssey and (before its
failure) the Mars Global Surveyor (already more than 7.6 terabits of data were transferred
using its Mars Relay antenna and Mars Orbiter Camera's memory buffer of 12 MB). Since
MRO went into orbit around Mars, the landers have also used it as a relay asset. Most of the
lander data is relayed to Earth through Odyssey and MRO. The orbiters can communicate
with the rovers at a much higher data rate than the rovers can communicate with the Earth
directly, due to the much shorter distances from lander to orbiters. The orbiters communicate
with the Earth using larger higher gain antennas than the rovers have, and therefore the relay
process can transfer much larger volumes of data from landers to Earth, than if the rovers
transferred the data directly.
Each rover has a total of 9 cameras, which produce 1024-pixel by 1024-pixel images at 12
bits per pixel, but most navigation camera images and image thumbnails are truncated to 8
bits per pixel to conserve memory and transmission time. All images are then compressed
using ICER before being stored and sent to Earth. Navigation, thumbnail, and many other
image types are compressed to approximately 0.8 to 1.1 bits/pixel. Lower bit rates (less than
0.5 bit/pixel) are used for certain wavelengths of multi-color panoramic images.
ICER is based on wavelets, and was designed specifically for deep-space applications. It
produces progressive compression, both lossless and lossy, and incorporates an errorcontainment scheme to limit the effects of data loss on the deep-space channel. It outperforms
the lossy JPEG image compressor and the lossless Rice compressor used by the Mars
Pathfinder mission.

4.4 POWER AND ELECTRONIC SYSTEMS

When fully illuminated, the rover triple junction solar arrays generate about 140 watts for up
to four hours per Martian day (sol). The rover needs about 100 watts to drive. Its power
system includes two rechargeable lithium ion batteries weighing 7.15 kg (16 pounds) each,

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that provide energy when the sun is not shining, especially at night. Over time, the batteries
will degrade and will not be able to recharge to full capacity.
For comparison, the Mars Science Laboratory's power system is composed of a MultiMission Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator (MMRTG) produced by Boeing. The
MMRTG is designed to provide 125W of electrical power at the start of the mission, falling
to 100W after 14 years of service. It will be used to power the MSL's many systems and
instruments. Solar panels were also considered for the MSL, but RTGs provide constant
power, regardless of the time of day, and thus the versatility to work in dark environments
and high latitudes where solar energy is not readily available. The MSL will generate
2.5 kilowatt hours per day, compared to the Mars Exploration Rovers, which can generate
about 0.6 kilowatt hours per day.
It was thought that by the end of the 90-sol mission, the capability of the solar arrays to
generate power would likely be reduced to about 50 watts. This was due to anticipated dust
coverage on the solar arrays, and the change in season. Over three Earth years later, however,
the rovers' power supplies hovered between 300 watt-hours and 900 watt-hours per day,
depending on dust coverage. Cleaning events (dust removal by wind) have occurred more
often than NASA expected, keeping the arrays relatively free of dust and extending the life of
the mission. During a 2007 global dust storm on Mars, both rovers experienced some of the
lowest power of the mission; Opportunity dipped to 128 watt-hours. In November 2008,
Spirit had overtaken this low-energy record with a production of 89 watt-hours, due to dust
storms in the region of Gusev crater.

5.ABOUT FUTURES
The Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) will provide scientists with access to previously
inaccessible landing sites by providing precision landing within less than 10 km of a target
landing site, at landing sites with elevations up to 2.5 km. With these capabilities, MSLwill
be the first lander in a new generation of landers, providing near-global access to the Mars
surface. The first-generation landers, Viking and Pathfinder, provided successful landing on
Mars but by design were limited to large-scale, hundreds-of-kilometer, landing sites with
minimal local hazards. Similar to Pathfinder, the Mars Exploration Rover landers used a
ballistic entry at Mars with approximately 80-km landing footprints. The MSL technology
will not only provide the capability to achieve the science goals defined for MSL but will
provide capability needed for a range of mission classes including Mars Sample Return
missions, potential Mars Scout missions, and human exploration missions. In addition, MSL
provides the starting point for future pinpoint landing capability, ending within hundreds of
meters from a target landing site. Several design variants of the MSL have been developed
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over the past several years. Work presented in this special section will include that completed
to support a 2007 MSL design (named the Mars Smart Lander). The primary events in the
Mars Smart Lander entry, descent, and landing sequence are illustrated in Fig. 1. The
spacecraft is guided and navigated to the target entry corridor. Once the spacecraft encounters
the Martian atmosphere, the entry guidance logic is activated. The guidance system computes
bank angle commands to direct the capsules lift vector, shown in Fig. 2, such that the desired
position relative to the target landing site is achieved at the correct supersonic parachute
deploy conditions. The bank angle magnitude is used to control the total range, and the bank
angle direction is used to control cross range. Guided aeromaneuvering during entry is the
technology that results in landing accuracies of less than 10 km from the target. Deployment
of the supersonic parachute is triggered by the entry guidance logic to be within the Viking
parachute qualification box of Mach 1.132.2 and dynamic pressures of 239850 Pa. The
supersonic parachute is a derivative of the Viking mortar-deployed parachute and serves as a
drogue parachute in this entry descent lander system, decelerating the spacecraft to subsonic
velocities. Once the vehicle reaches approximately Mach 0.8, the backshell and supersonic
parachute are jettisoned, and a much larger subsonic main parachute is deployed to further
reduce the vehicle velocity to terminal velocities of 4050 m/s before initiation of powered
descent. Once on the subsonic parachute, the heatshield is released. During subsonic
parachute descent, terrain-relative navigation is initiated, allowing the onboard navigation
system to accurately determine the spacecrafts surface-relative altitude and velocity. In the
1.51.0-km above-ground-level range, a scanning lidar begins periodically generating local
elevation maps of the area surrounding the projected landing site. The lidar elevation maps
are used to identify any potential hazards. Results are used by the guidance system to
redesignate the target site to a safer location if necessary. Hazard detection and avoidance
continues during powered descent to al low redesignation of the landing site as necessary.
Powered descent concludes with thrust termination approximately 1 m above the surface,
resulting in velocity components at touchdown well within the capabilities of the
landing/arrest approaches under consideration.

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REFERENCES
Robotic Rovers Aid Mars Surface Exploration by Dr. Antal K. Bejczy.
Mars Exploration Rover Athena Panoramic Camera (Pancam)
Investigation by J. F. Bell III
Long-Range Rovers for Mars Exploration and Sample Return by Joe C. Parrish
Mars Exploration Rover Surface Operations: Driving Spirit at Gusev Crater
P. Chris Leger, Ashitey Trebi-Ollennu, John R. Wright, Scott A. Maxwell,
Robert G. Bonitz,
Jeffrey J. Biesiadecki, Frank R. Hartman, Brian K. Cooper, Eric T. Baumgartner,
and Mark W. Maimone
.
Mars Exploration Rover Mobility and Robotic Arm
Operational Performance
Edward Tunstel, Mark Maimone, Ashitey Trebi-Ollennu, Jeng Yen, Rich
Petras,Reg Willson.

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