Two different Mars rover designs.

A rover is a space exploration vehicle designed to move across the surface of a planet or other astronomical body. Some rovers have been designed to transport members of a human spaceflight crew; others have been partially or fully autonomous robots. Rovers usually arrive at the planetary surface on a lander-style spacecraft. Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1280x960, 497 KB) Mars Exploration Rover vs. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1280x960, 497 KB) Mars Exploration Rover vs. ... Space exploration is the physical exploration of outer space, both by human spaceflights and by robotic spacecraft. ... This article is about the astronomical term. ... See lists of astronomical objects for a list of the various lists of astronomical objects in Wikipedia. ... Edward White on a spacewalk during the Gemini 4 mission. ... Autonomous robots are robots which can perform desired tasks in unstructured environments without continuous human guidance. ... A lander is a type of spacecraft which descends to come to rest on the surface of an astronomical body. ... The Space Shuttle Discovery as seen from the International Space Station. ...

History

Lunokhod 1

Main article: Lunokhod 1

The Lunokhod 1 rover landed on the Moon in 1970. It was the first roving remote-controlled robot to land on any celestial body. The Soviet Union launched Lunokhod 1 aboard the Luna 17 spacecraft on November 10, 1970, and it entered lunar orbit on November 15. The spacecraft soft-landed in the Sea of Rains region on November 17. The lander had dual ramps from which Lunokhod 1 could descend to the lunar surface, which it did at 06:28 UT. From November 17, 1970 to November 22, 1970 the rover drove 197 m, and during 10 communication sessions returned 14 close up pictures of the Moon and 12 panoramic views. It also conducted analysis of the lunar soil. The last successful communications session with Lunokhod 1 was on September 14, 1971. At the end of its mission Lunokhod had driven over 10 kilometers on the surface of the Moon. Lunokhod series Soviet Moon exploration robot vehicle A panorama shot from Lunokhod 1 A photo from Lunokhod 1 showing the Luna 17 lander The tracks of Lunokhod showing the little wheel in the center that was used for odometry. ... Lunokhod series Soviet Moon exploration robot vehicle A panorama shot from Lunokhod 1 A photo from Lunokhod 1 showing the Luna 17 lander The tracks of Lunokhod showing the little wheel in the center that was used for odometry. ... This article is about Earths moon. ... For other uses, see robot (disambiguation). ... Luna 17 was an unmanned space mission of the Luna program, also called Lunik 17. ... Mare Imbrium Mare Imbrium, Latin for Sea of Showers or Sea of Rains, is a vast lunar mare filling a basin on Earths Moon. ...

Apollo Lunar Roving Vehicle

Main article: Lunar rover

For the Soviet robotic rovers, see Lunokhod programme. ...

Lunokhod 2

Main article: Lunokhod 2

Lunokhod series Soviet Moon exploration robot vehicle Lunokhod 2 was the second of two unmanned lunar rovers landed on the Moon by the Soviet Union as part of the Lunokhod program. ...

Prop-M Rover

Main articles: Mars 3 and Prop-M Rover

Mars 3 lander had a small 4.5 kg Mars rover on board, which would move across the surface on skis while connected to the lander with a 15-meter umbilical. Two small metal rods were used for autonomous obstacle avoidance, as radio signals from Earth would take too long to drive the rovers using remote control. The rover was planned to be placed on the surface after landing by a manipulator arm and to move in the field of view of the television cameras and stop to make measurements every 1.5 meters. The traces of movement in the Martian soil would also be recorded to determine material properties. Because of the demise of the lander, the rover never saw action. It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Mars 2. ...

Sojourner

Main article: Sojourner (rover)

The Mars Pathfinder mission included Sojourner, the first rover to successfully reach another planet. The U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) launched Mars Pathfinder on December 4, 1996; it landed on Mars in a region called Chryse Planitia on 4 July 1997. From its landing until the final data transmission on September 27, 1997, Mars Pathfinder returned 16,500 images from the lander and 550 images from Sojourner, as well as more than 15 chemical analysis of rocks and soil and extensive data on winds and other weather factors. Sojourner next to the rock Barnacle Bill The Sojourner rover was the first space exploration rover to successfully reach another planet. ... The Mars Pathfinder was launched on December 4, 1996 by NASA aboard a Delta II just a month after the Mars Global Surveyor was launched. ... For other uses, see United States (disambiguation) and US (disambiguation). ... NASA Logo Listen to this article · (info) This audio file was created from the revision dated 2005-09-01, and does not reflect subsequent edits to the article. ... Adjectives: Martian Atmosphere Surface pressure: 0. ... Chryse Planitia is a smooth circular plain in the northern equatorial region of Mars close to the Tharsis region. ...

Active rover missions

Mars Exploration Rovers

Main article: Spirit rover

Main article: Opportunity rover

Two rovers -- Spirit and Opportunity -- were landed on Mars as part of the Mars Exploration Rover mission. Both Spirit and Opportunity have been operating on Mars for more than three years. By February 6, 2007, Opportunity had traversed 10 kilometers on the Martian surface.^[1] The launch patch for Spirit, featuring Marvin the Martian. ... The launch patch for Opportunity, featuring Duck Dodgers (Daffy Duck). ... The launch patch for Spirit, featuring Marvin the Martian. ... The launch patch for Opportunity, featuring Duck Dodgers (Daffy Duck). ... Artists Concept of Rover on Mars (credit: Maas Digital LLC) NASAs Mars Exploration Rover (MER) Mission is an ongoing robotic mission of exploring Mars, that began in 2003 with the sending of two rovers — Spirit and Opportunity — to explore the Martian surface and geology. ... is the 37th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ...

Planned rover missions

Mars Science Laboratory

Main article: Mars Science Laboratory

The Mars Science Laboratory is a NASA rover scheduled to launch in December 2009 and perform a precision landing on Mars in October 2010. This rover will be three times as heavy and twice the width of the Mars Exploration Rovers that landed in 2004. 2007 Mars Science Laboratory concept Schematic diagram of the planned rover components The Mars Science Laboratory (or MSL for short) is a NASA rover scheduled to launch in September 2009 and perform a precision landing on Mars in July-September 2010. ... 2007 Mars Science Laboratory concept Schematic diagram of the planned rover components The Mars Science Laboratory (or MSL for short) is a NASA rover scheduled to launch in September 2009 and perform a precision landing on Mars in July-September 2010. ... Look up December in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... 2009 (MMIX) will be a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... For other uses, see October (disambiguation). ... 2010 (MMX) will be a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Chandrayaan-II

Main articles: Chandrayaan#Chandrayaan-II and Chandrayaan-II

Chandrayaan I (Sanskrit चंद्रयान-1), which literally means Moon Craft, is an unmanned lunar mission by the Indian Space Research Organization. ...

Autonomy

Distances and lag times

Rovers which land on celestial bodies far from the Earth - such as the Mars Exploration Rovers - cannot be remotely controlled since the speed of light (the speed at which radio signals travel) is far to slow for real time or near-real time communication, and therefore must be capable of operating autonomously which little assistance from ground control. Artists Concept of Rover on Mars NASAs Mars Exploration Rover (MER) Mission (since 2003) is a unmanned Mars exploration mission that includes sending two Rovers (robots) to explore the Martian surface and geology. ... The speed of light in a vacuum is an important physical constant denoted by the letter c for constant or the Latin word celeritas meaning swiftness.[1] It is the speed of all electromagnetic radiation, including visible light, in a vacuum. ... Autonomous robots are robots which can perform desired tasks in unstructured environments without continuous human guidance. ...

References

1. ^ Opportunity Passes 10-Kilometer Mark. nasa.gov. Retrieved on February 8, 2007.