This is the Mars Exploration Rover - 1. Is it "Spirit" or "Opportunity"? I don't know. It is seen here, fully assembled and
waiting to be shipped to Kennedy Space Center in Florida. There it will be, or rather already has been, launched to Mars
on a Delta II rocket.
It is shown here in the highbay at JPL in Pasadina, CA. The highbay is where it was assembled and tested. The highbay is itself an amazing place. It is large enough to have been the birth place of the largest deep space probes that NASA has built. And it is an ultra-cleanroom. This shot is very interesting to me because I worked in this same room while the MER spacecraft were being assembled. The project that I was working on is called SIM. The SIM project was performing laser interferometer experiments in the large silver space simulation chamber that can be seen behind the rover. Also behind the rover on the left, center of the picture, there is a cone shaped object. That is the rear of the aeroshell that houses the MER spacecraft during entry into the Martian atmosphere. While I was staring in awe at the rover, I didn't notice the aeroshell behind me. One of the technicians that were working on the rover came over and pointed it out. Then asked me to move away from it. I was actually too close to part of this mission to Mars! That was exciting. Full Size JPeg Mars Exploration Rover Mars Web @ JPL |
