What Is the Main Objective of the Mars Exploration Rover Missions?

Name: ______Date: ______Flynt - ___ Period ___th Grade Science

1. What is the main objective of the Mars Exploration Rover Missions?

2. Where were the Mars Exploration Rovers designed, tested, and assembled before they were launched? (more than one may be correct) a. Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, FL. b. Jet Propulsion Lab of Cal Tech (California Institute of Technology) in Pasadena, CA. c. Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, AL.

3. How many people worked on the MER mission? a. About 250 people. b. Over 500 people. c. More than 4000.

4. No one person can say “I understand everything about this vehicle” because so many people have been involved in the intricacies of this complex endeavor. Briefly discuss what the significance of the above quote.

5. Why are the rovers called origami (or-uh-gah-mee) spacecraft?

6. The rovers must travel over 300,000,000 miles (300 million miles) to get to mars at 60,000 mph!!! Even at that velocity, it takes 7 months to get there! One scientist in the film uses what simile or metaphor (analogy) to describe how hard this is? a. It’s like forcing a camel through the eye of a needle at 60,000 mph! b. Like shooting a basketball from LA to NY and having it go through the hoop without touching the rim. c. It’s like throwing a dart from a train moving at 100 mph in one direction at a bull’s-eye on another train moving quickly in a different direction.

7. Why did NASA send two identical spacecraft to Mars? Does it have anything to do with Mars being called a “Spacecraft Graveyard”?

8. What are the names of the two rovers? a. ______b. ______

9. Describe the “personalities” of the two rovers as described by mission scientists.

FACTOID: Rover Design Elements:  Rovers have all the joints of a human arm: shoulder, elbow, and wrist.  4 main “areology” instruments: microscope, 2 types of spectrometers, and the RAT (Rock Abrasion Tool).  Rocker-bogey suspension system designed to deal with Mars rocky surface – allows each wheel to move independently.

10. How long does it take for a radio signal to get from Mars to Earth? ______11. How long does it take for the landing craft to fall through the atmosphere? ______

12. How do these two time factors (above) affect the ability of mission controllers at JPL and NASA to make adjustments and course corrections during the landing phase?

13. Describe the feelings in the mission control room during the landing phase. How did you feel as you watched this?

FACTOID: The capsule with the rover is moving at 12,084 mph when it enters the atmosphere, then slows to 173 mph as it nears terminal velocity.

14. Why was Gusev Crater in the Southern Highlands of Mars chosen as the landing site for Spirit? Think about what we have studied in class and what scientists are looking for.

15. What enables Spirit to navigate the terrain of Mars? How often does NASA send commands to the rover? 16. What did scientists name the very first rock that Spirit studied? a. Everest b. Bob c. Adirondack d. Columbus

17. What is the RAT and how does it help Spirit analyze the very first rock on Mars?

18. What is the first rock made of and why is this disappointing?

19. Spirit was designed to only go about ______yards over its lifetime and last about ___ Mars Days. a. 5000, 100 b. 600, 90 c. 100, 30

20. Why does the speaker say that “Opportunity landed in front of a Maritan History book.”?

FACTOID: At Opportunity’s landing site, the rover found little round beads or spheres embedded in rocks like blueberries in a muffin. These beads were made of hematite, a mineral often formed in liquid water here on Earth. Later, Opportunity also found Jarosite – a mineral that couldn’t have formed unless there had been water in the rocks when this mineral formed. Opportunity also found evidence of ripples preserved in sedimentary rocks near its landing site.

21. What conclusions can be drawn from the discoveries made by Opportunity?

22. The Mars Expedition Rovers have survived WAY longer than ever expected, but eventually, they will cease to operate. What are the probable factors that will eventually bring an end to the MER mission?

23. We now know there is water or at least there was once liquid water on Mars. What is the next great question still left to be answered in terms of Mars? What will be or should be the focus of our next few missions? 24. How have the Mars rovers advanced our endeavor to send humans to Mars?

25. Think of what the word “hero” means. Do you think that the Spirit and Opportunity qualify as heroes even though they are just robots?

26. Independent Research: Tonight, conduct research on Curiosity, the Mars Science Laboratory rover that is currently active on Mars. How does Curiosity compare to Spirit and Opportunity in terms of physical features (size, instrumentation) and overall mission?