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USGS Astrogeology team preps for Mars rover landing

Saturday, December 20, 2003

USGS Astrogeology scientists are making preparations for their rover to land in early January. Lisa Gaddis, the team chief scientist, said that she and at least three other team members will travel to the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., in time for the anticipated Jan. 3 landing of the Mars Exploration Rover Project. The team members will assist with calibration of all of the MER cameras and providing software tools for analyzing images. Once the rovers are on Mars, the team will meet and work on the data and be part of the decision to move the wheeled robots around the planet. "We're testing our software right now," Gaddis said. "Most of our work has involved preparations for the microscopic imager." About 20 people on the USGS Astrogeology staff are involved in the project.

More: Arizona Daily Sun - Flag team preps for Mars landing

Link: USGS Astro - Mars Exploration Rover Project

Link: JPL - Mars Exploration Rover Mission

Link: USGS Astro - Mars Pathfinder and 2003 Rover Missions

Posted by HotTopics in MER at 12:00

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