The Mars Rover Mission became a reality in the summer of 2000, when Ed Weiller, NASA associate administrator, personally selected the Rover after two months spent scrutinizing the two competing team’s proposals, a rover and an orbiter.Steve Squyres, Professor of Astronomy at Cornell University, was named principal investigator on Cornell’s Athena Science Team, made up largely of international members. Included on the team is Jim Bell, assistant professor of astronomy at Cornell, who would be responsible for the construction of the rovers Panoramic Camera System, which is used in the selection of primary science targets. As principle investigator, Squyres is responsible for the scientific instruments that would fly to Mars as integral parts of the twin Mars Exploration Rovers. Link to original article.
The MER mission was designed and developed to explore the surface of Mars like no other surface mission has before. NASA's twin rovers are the answer to the problem of getting field geologists to Mars. Through an array of scientific cameras and spectrometers as well as complex mechanical, computer and communications engineering, scientific data will be transmitted back from two opposing sides of the planet to Earth for study.
While robots will never be equivalent to humans in the ability to think rationally in the exploration of any frontier, the rovers will provide a way for scientists here on Earth to study water's role in the Martian environment safely, paving the way for human explorers in the future. Each rover is designed to represent the field geologist as closely as possible. They have a body to protect its vital equipment and a computer that acts as a brain to process the information that will control all of it's functions. It has heaters to provide warmth and a solar array that will keep its battery charged. It has a neck and head that provides a mount for eyes and sensors to navigate and study interesting finds. The eyes are mounted at a height of 6 ft. to provide for a realistic human perspective. The rovers have an arm to extend it's reach, and a hand, to apply mounted tools to rocks and soil on the end of the arm. It has wheels to provide mobility. It has antennas for two-way communication with orbiting satellites as well as directly with the Earth. The rover is as close to it's human counterpart that modern engineering can provide and is a testament to what humans can achieve.
