Posted in: SERVO Blog (07/28 at 03:27 PM)
Mars Curiosity Rover - First Test Drive
Captured from live broadcast on 07/23/10. The Mars Curiosity Rover (aka Mars Science Laboratory) takes a first short drive in the JPL clean room where it is being built. Cheers and commentary provided by mission team members who watched the event from a viewing gallery above the clean room floor. In this clip the rover drives backward for the first time.
“In what probably isn’t a tribute to Spirit (which drove backwards from March of 2006 on due to a broken wheel) Curiosity took its first drive test on Friday at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory where it’s undergoing assembly. Powered by a radioisotope thermoelectric generator, the SUV-sized rover will be carrying a much larger science payload than the current Mars rovers are able to. Scheduled to arrive on Mars in August of 2012, Spirit is now officially one meter closer to its destination.”
[Source] HackedGadgets via Youtube