Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) Rover
On January 3, 2004, The Mars Exploration Rover named “Spirit” landed on the surface of Mars for a nominal 90-day mission. Three weeks later, Spirit’s twin rover “Opportunity” bounced down onto the opposite side of the red planet.
On January 17, 2004, a third Mars Exploration Rover touched down, this time on planet Earth. This one-quarter-scale replica of Spirit and Opportunity was built by Mars Society member Patrick Purcell, and operated by The Mars Society-San Diego chapter as part of their space exploration outreach program. It sported Remote Control driving and a wireless video camera to send images back to a nearby television monitor.
Since then, the San Diego Mars Rover has been the centerpiece of over 250 outreach events, and has been driven by thousands of children. The rover is booking up to six months in advance. We take her out to schools, libraries, museums, model rocket launches, astronomy events, science fairs, Sci-Fi conventions and other public space-related events. Children of ALL ages love to drive her around.
We recently found a toy radio-controlled version of the Mars “Sojourner” Rover on eBay and purchased it. We now have two Mars Rovers in our fleet.
In the future, NASA plans to send yet another Mars Rover to the red planet: the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL). The San Diego Space Society believes that by designing, building, and operating another scale model Mars Rover replica, we can capitalize on the renewed excitement about Mars exploration.
The Spirit rover model was built on a toy RC truck chassis and has been plagued by mechanical complications. To build the MSL rover to last, we’re planning on using hobby-grade parts and getting help from amateur robotics clubs.
Plans so far include six-wheel “crawler” drive with 4-wheel steering, two onboard wireless video cameras (one visible light and one infrared), and an articulated robotic sample arm. Naturally, this means a hefty construction cost. The Mars Society-San Diego is teaming up with the San Diego Space Society to build and operate the MSL rover. We’ll definitely be looking for grants, donations and outside funding to realize this robot. It will definitely be a space community project. It will keep us very visible to the public, and especially to the children who one day may be the first to set foot on Mars.
