Mars Pathfinder's "Box" Was a Tetra

[Jay H 237]

That thought never occurred to me. The tetra is a strong shape, perfect for bouncing across the Martian surface. Any comments Dave?

By the way, I think you mean Spirit and Opportunity. I'm not sure how Pathfinder (and Sojourner {spelling?}) arrived on Mars back in '97.

[Joe Ross]

Originally Posted by Jay H 237

By the way, I think you mean Spirit and Opportunity. I'm not sure how Pathfinder (and Sojourner {spelling?}) arrived on Mars back in '97.

It was a tetra as well. http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/MPF/mpf/retraction.html

[cvhsrobotics]

I believe this is the "Rover and Lander" unit during EDL (Entry, Descent, Landing). It is a tetrs that has airbags around it and evenually deflates when it is done bouncing. Then opens up like a flower, no matter if it is on its base or flaps. This system was used on both Sojourner, Spirit, and Opportunity. http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/missions/mer/

[Aignam]

Ha. Lavery's a genius.

[dlavery]

I was wondering how long it was going to take for someone to notice the similarities. Congratulations Digo, for being the first one!

(and yes, that shape was used by all three of the recent successful Mars landing systems - Spirit and Opportunity last year, and Mars Pathfinder in 1997)

-dave

[Elgin Clock]

The shape of the delivery system is nice and all, but when are we gonna see the spiffy drive train that Spirit and Opportunity use.

Not the wheels themselves per-say, but the way they move. I love that they can turn independent of each other and turn on a dime..

http://www.maasdigital.com/mervideo-medium.html

Should be demonstrated in that video. I think..
Well, even if it isn't, it's still a cool video.

And look.. That same site even has some cool desktop images of the rover too..
http://athena.cornell.edu/popups/wallpaper/index.html