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MEDIA RELATIONS OFFICE
JET PROPULSION LABORATORY
CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION
PASADENA, CALIF. 91109 TELEPHONE (818) 354-5011
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov 

Carolina Martinez (818) 354-9382
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.                           
April 25, 2003

News Release: 2003-061      

Lectures to Cover Engineering Challenges of 'Hard Rock' Science

Scientists and engineers don't always dance to the beat of the same
drum, especially when it comes to "hard rock" science -- the study of
intact, crystallized rocks on other planets, which may provide clues
to how these other worlds formed.

But how do we get to these rocks and other interesting sites?  "These
scientifically rich spots pose many technological challenges for
robots and require engineering designs capable of going where no
human or robot has gone before," said Brian Wilcox, robotics engineer
and manager of the Solar System Exploration Mobility Technology
Program at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.  "While
we all agree that reaching the most promising sites is ideal,
technology sometimes limits where and how robots will get to that
science." 

Wilcox will discuss the extreme engineering challenges future solar
system exploration robots will face in a pair of free lectures, on
Thursday, May 8, at JPL, and on Friday, May 9, at Pasadena City
College.

Conducting science on planetary surfaces such as Mars, Venus, Mercury
and Saturn's moon Titan can be difficult for mobile robots.  So,
these science-rich targets demand a fleet of new robots capable of
working on land, in the atmosphere and below a planet's surface.

The Viking landers reached Mars in 1976 and gave us a peek at the
rocks on the red planet's surface.  In 1997, the Pathfinder rover
ventured close enough to the planet to examine these rocks up close
for the first time.  "Although they had the latest technology
available at the time, and despite the rich array of rocks visible
around them, the Viking landers and Sojourner rover could not do the
real "hard rock" science that the upcoming Mars Exploration Rovers
will be able to do," said Wilcox.  "The twin rovers will not only be
close enough to see the rocks, but also get a glimpse inside the
rocks, much as a geologist would. Future robots will not only get
inside the rocks but pick their own landing sites in real-time." 

Both lectures will begin at 7 p.m. Seating is first-come,
first-served. The Thursday lecture will be in JPL's von Karman
Auditorium. JPL is at 4800 Oak Grove Dr., off the Oak Grove Drive
exit of the 210 (Foothill) Freeway. The Friday lecture will be in
Pasadena City College's Vosloh Forum, 1570 E. Colorado Blvd. For
more information, call (818) 354-0112.

Thursday's lecture will be webcast live and available afterwards at
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/events/lectures/may03.html .

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