Driving here on Earth can be hard enough, but what if you had to plan your route out a whole day in advance and factor in weather, traffic jams, and that little kid every now and then who runs out into the street after his ball? That's what Mars Curiosity rover drivers face every day in a sense, according to Jeng Yen from NASA.
Taiwanese-born Jeng Yen, who calls himself a "taxi driver," recently revealed how exactly the Curiosity rover is driven. Scientists spend up to 10 hours a day analyzing data sent back from Mars in order to plan the next day's move. The instructions are then beamed over to Curiosity, which executes them the next day. Usually, the rover covers around 50-60 meters a day depending on the terrain, Yen says.
"Its furthest record was 140 meters a day," Yen told CNA during a speech at the Taipei Astronomical Museum.
One of the mission's highlights so far, and one of the toughest tasks to accomplish, for Yen was when a photograph of Curiosity was snapped during the rover's landing. Given the planet's orbit, the speed of the satellite taking the photograph, and the 14 minutes it takes for a radio signal to reach Mars, it's no wonder the 52-year-old scientists is proud of the picture.
"It meant that our landing model was accurate, to know its trajectory," Yen said.
The Curiosity rover recently discovered a strange white coating on martian rocks that could indicate water once existed. Yen and the rest of the NASA team will be driving Curiosity to Mount Sharp next year, where they hope the different layers of sediment will help scientists uncover more about Mars' geological makeup.
Read more about Curiosity at the official NASA webpage.