My Pick of Pic's December 11, 2003 Journey to Mars - At Work The Mars Exploration Rovers are robotic field geologists designed to answer the question, "What is the history of liquid water on Mars?" As such, it is armed with an array of scientific instruments to explorer the mineral composition of rocks found at the landing sites. On the mast are Pancam (a visible light camera) and mini-TES (an infrared spectrometer), their purpose is to survey the surroundings. Three more instruments -- a Microscopic Imager and two spectrometers, the Mössbauer and the APXS -- can be placed against rocks and soil targets to learn about them. The Rock Abrasion Tool (a.k.a the RAT) can then be used to scrape away the outer layers of a rock to see what lies beneath View the entire Rover 2003 Video Simulation on the Athena website. Previous Images in the Journey to Mars Series Blastoff Third Stage Engine Ignition Mars Atmospheric Entry Terminal Desent Touchdown Egress Mars Exploration Rover Mars Web @ JPL