Mars exploration rover surface operations: driving opportunity at Meridiani Planum

• Published in: IEEE robotics & automation magazine Vol. 13; no. 2; pp. 63 - 71
• Main Authors: Biesiadecki, J.J., Baumgartner, E.T., Bonitz, R.G., Cooper, B., Hartman, F.R., Leger, P.C., Maimone, M.W., Maxwell, S.A., Trebi-Ollennu, A., Tunstel, E.W., Wright, J.R.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York IEEE 01-06-2006; The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE)
• Subjects: Driving; Instruments; Landing; Landmine detection; Landscapes; Marine vehicles; Mars; Mars exploration; Mobile robots; Pictures; Robotics; Robotics and automation; Soil; Space vehicles; Vehicle detection; Vehicles; Wheels
• ISSN: 1070-9932; 1558-223X
• DOI: 10.1109/MRA.2006.1638017

Since landing on the Meridiani Planum region of Mars in January 2004, the Mars exploration rover (MER) vehicle named Opportunity has been sending back pictures taken from several different craters that would provide evidence that the region did indeed have a watery past. This paper details the experience of driving Opportunity through this alien landscape during its first 400 days on Mars, from the point of view of the other rover planners, the people who tell the rover where to drive and how to use its robotic arm