Sky's Up Global Astronomy Magazine Volume II (April 2021) | Page 18

wonderful universe

wonderful universe

COURTESY OF NASA
Two spacecraft engineers stand with a group of vehicles providing a comparison of three generations of Mars rovers developed at NASA ’ s Jet Propulsion Laboratory , Pasadena , Calif . The setting is JPL ’ s Mars Yard testing area . Front and center is the flight spare for the first Mars rover , Sojourner , which landed on Mars in 1997 as part of the Mars Pathfinder Project . On the left is a Mars Exploration Rover Project test rover that is a working sibling to Spirit and Opportunity , which landed on Mars in 2004 . On the right is a Mars Science Laboratory test rover the size of that project ’ s Mars rover , Curiosity , which landed on Mars in 2012 . Sojourner and its flight spare , named Marie Curie , are 2 feet ( 65 centimeters ) long . The Mars Exploration Rover Project ’ s rover , including the “ Surface System Test Bed ” rover in this photo , are 5.2 feet ( 1.6 meters ) long . The Mars Science Laboratory Project ’ s Curiosity rover and “ Vehicle System Test Bed ” rover , on the right , are 10 feet ( 3 meters ) long . The engineers are JPL ’ s Matt Robinson , left , and Wesley Kuykendall .
Right , this is NASA InSight ’ s second full selfie on
Mars . Since taking its first selfie , the lander has removed its heat probe and seismometer from its deck , placing them on the Martian surface ; a thin coating of dust now covers the spacecraft as well .
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COURTESY OF NASA / JPL-Caltech