Mars Pathfinder

by: Ryan C.

The Mars Pathfinder was NASA’s first-ever robotic rover to land on and gather information on Mars. It took off December 4th, 1916, and it landed July 4th, 1997 in the Ares Vallis. The pathfinder was packed with technology to pick up information on mars and allow scientists and engineers to receive this information. Alpha Proton X-ray Spectrometer, Three Cameras, and Atmospheric Structure Instrument/Meteorology Package. The Mars Pathfinder was able to bring information for 85 days then all communications were lost. Scientists tried to restore communications for five months then the mission was terminated.

This mission was the first of many creations to observe Mars. One hundred and seventy-five million was spent on this mission. The mars pathfinder is a robot because of the six characteristics. The body of the robot was what was protecting the robot from the Mars terrain. The brain processes information from the sensors and sends commands to the actuators. So it could move and send pictures to people on earth who would analyze whatever was sent without people on the ground commanding it to. The mars pathfinder had a program that allowed it to collect data and send it back to earth. The behavior of the robot could be told through its motions and the path that it took to gather information.

Pathfinder

by: Jonathan J.

NASA’s historical Pathfinder was the first ever robotic rover to land on Mars. The Pathfinders primary goal was to collect geological, soil, magnetic property and atmospheric data while also showing low cost. It launched on December 4, 1996 and landed in Ares Vallis on Mars on July 4, 1997. Aboard was a rover named Sojourner which would collect the samples as well as take pictures.

The Pathfinder’s mission was ended on September 27, 1997. (picture on right is delta rocket launch that sent the Pathfinder to mars)

In order for the Pathfinder to be a robot it must have six characteristics of one which are body, brain, sensors, actuators, program and behavior. The body of the Pathfinder carried the rover and held things in place. The pathfinder processed information in the brain using sensors to command the actuators to help it land or take pictures like it was programmed to do. The behavior of the robot was predictable due to the way it moved.

Sojourner rover

https://sites.google.com/a/jeffcoschools.us/cagray/robotics/history-of-robotics/pathfinder

https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/missions/mars-pathfinder/in-depth/

https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/spaceimages/details.php?id=PIA04754

https://appel.nasa.gov/2011/01/31/mars-on-a-budget/

Pathfinder

by: Elaina H.

The Pathfinder landed on Mars in 1997 and is the first Mars rover to explore the surface of the red planet. The Pathfinder is significant because it is one of the only ways that we’re able to accumulate data and research this planet that we’re not able to visit ourselves yet. Space is the final frontier that mankind is trying to learn more about and eventually visit so it is important for us to further our understanding about the next planet we’re visiting. This river was able to tell us about the environment, climate, composition of rocks, and carry scientific instruments for observation. The Pathfinder was an innovation that paved the path for the scientific research and eventually the possible colonization of Mars.

This rover is a robot because it meets all of the requirements and characteristics that separate machines from actual robots. The Pathfinder had a body and a brain which is what made it able to interact with the surface of mars and collect rock samples. The Pathfinder’s body was lightweight and equipped with 6 wheels so that it could easily traverse the surface of Mars. The rover also had a brain because it could operate without the control of a human, so it could therefore make decisions and operate itself. The Pathfinder possessed sensors and actuators so that it was able to make sense and travel around it’s environment. The programming and behavior of the Pathfinder equipped the rover to take samples of and analyze rock samples and overall collect information about it’s environment, which was it’s main purpose.