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Originally Posted by Sandvich
If that's how quickly it moved, then that's way slower than I thought. Is that the average speed at which it moved when it was actually moving, or the average speed over the entire time the robot was on Mars?
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I just divided the distance traveled by the time it's been there. Here is the website's explanation of
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Rover Speed
The rover has a top speed on flat hard ground of 5 centimeters (2 inches) per second. However, in order to ensure a safe drive, the rover is equipped with hazard avoidance software that causes the rover to stop and reassess its location every few seconds. So, over time, the vehicle achieves an average speed of 1 centimeter per second. The rover is programmed to drive for roughly 10 seconds, then stop to observe and understand the terrain it has driven into for 20 seconds, before moving safely onward for another 10 seconds.
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This when you've got somewhere to go AND the energy to do it. If you've stopped to smell the flowers, your average speed will decline, of course.