The experiment is one of several NASA activities designed to develop the next generation of planetary rovers that will explore Mars early next century. The first Mars rover, aboard NASA's Mars Pathfinder lander mission, is due for launch on December 2. Using their computers and the Internet, the students will control the rover as it navigates through a sparsely- vegetated area during a NASA field test to simulate future robotic exploration of the red planet. The test site is located near Flagstaff on a Navajo Indian reservation adjacent to U.S. Highway 160. Students in Tuba City schools will steer the robotic vehicle Nov. 1 and again on Nov. 12.
Scientists consider the site to be an excellent analog for Martian terrain.
However, what I found is that there is a tremendous amount of excitement about space travel. In Navajo mythology, we believe that we came down from the stars and that it is our destiny to return to the stars. The Russian-built robotic vehicle is equipped with American avionics, computers and science instruments. The Marsokhod, or Mars rover, features six titanium wheels, a robotic arm to pick up rock and sediment samples and stereo video cameras mounted on a pan and tilt platform to transmit live images of the field test via satellite back to scientists at Ames. Scientists will communicate with the rover using a portable satellite communication antenna at the test site.