Exploring Mars by 4-Wheel Drive

February 7, 2005
Mark Maimone | NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory

The Mars Exploration Rovers are searching for answers about the history of water on Mars. Finding those answers will help scientists determine if life ever was on the Red Planet. The rovers, which landed on Mars last year, have driven over more than three miles of Martian terrain, including areas never before seen on Earth. Come see picture from Mars and learn how these incredible machines were developed, as well as what else is in store for future Mars missions.

Speaker Details

Dr. Mark Maimone is a Machine Vision researcher at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), a division of the California Institute of Technology. He earned his Ph.D. in Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon University in 1996, and was then a Post-doctoral Research Associate at the CMU Robotics Institute, supervising the 1996 Lunar Rover field trials and serving as Navigation and Software Lead for the 1997 Atacama Desert Trek. Mark has worked at JPL since 1997, initially on the Long Range Science Rover, Planetary Dexterous Manipulator, and Pioneer Vision System for Chornobyl Inspection projects, delivering 3D vision systems for autonomous robotic operations and mapping. A member of the Mars Exploration Rover (MER) Flight Software team since 2000, he designed and implemented the Autonomous Surface Navigation capabilities on the MER vehicles. Mark is now part of the MER Operations team, planning and reviewing Mars Rover activities daily.