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From: baalke@mars.jpl.nasa.gov (Ron Baalke)
Newsgroups: comp.robotics
Subject: Mars Rover Update - 10/03/90
Keywords: Mars Rover, JPL
Message-ID: <1990Oct4.201426.4309@jato.jpl.nasa.gov>
Date: 4 Oct 90 20:14:26 GMT
Sender: news@jato.jpl.nasa.gov
Reply-To: baalke@mars.jpl.nasa.gov (Ron Baalke)
Organization: Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA.
Lines: 21
Nntp-Posting-Host: mars.jpl.nasa.gov


                    Mars Rover Update
                     October 3, 1990
 
     The Mars Rover being developed at the Jet Propulsion Lab
(nicknamed "Robby") successfully picked its way along a rocky,
dried-out riverbed without human guidance.  This is the first
time that an autonomous vehicle has ever navigated rugged terrain
without the aid of a human navigator.
 
     The test is a milestone in developing a planet-roving vehicle
which could explore Mars to find suitable landing sites for a human
expedition.  The rover took four hours and twenty minutes to
navigate a 109-foot-long course in Pasadena's Arroyo Seco, a dry
riverbed adjacent to the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
      ___    _____     ___
     /_ /|  /____/ \  /_ /|
     | | | |  __ \ /| | | |      Ron Baalke         | baalke@mars.jpl.nasa.gov
  ___| | | | |__) |/  | | |___   Jet Propulsion Lab | baalke@jems.jpl.nasa.gov
 /___| | | |  ___/    | |/__ /|  M/S 301-355        |
 |_____|/  |_|/       |_____|/   Pasadena, CA 91109 |