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Pathfinder returns gold mine of information
Like Energizer bunny, rover keeps going
August 8, 1997
Web posted at: 5:37 p.m. EDT (2137 GMT)PASADENA, California (CNN) -- Enthusiastic NASA scientists hailed the Mars Pathfinder mission as a "100 percent success" Friday, saying it returned nearly double the amount of data expected and successfully carried out all its major goals.
The comments came as Pathfinder ended its primary 30-day mission. Its rover, Sojourner, had been expected to roam the red planet for a week before running out of power. However, as of Friday afternoon, the rover was still running strong.
Mars/Pathfinder afternoon briefing: Part 1
19 min. VXtreme video
Mars/Pathfinder afternoon briefing: Part 2
"At this point, the project is essentially declared a 100 percent mission success," mission manager Richard Cook announced at a news conference. He said scientists plan to continue conducting experiments with the rover over the next few months.
Pathfinder project scientist manager Matt Golombek described the mission as a historic accomplishment that for the first time provides scientists with a true representation of the Martian surface.
Weather report for Mars"We finally have a feeling of what it would be like to be on the surface of Mars now standing there," he said. "The dust would kick up. We would feel these temperature changes."
Golombek outlined what he considered the three most important discoveries:
- Scientists accurately predicted from orbit what the Mars landing site would be like, even though the closest objects identified prior to landing were the size of football fields. "That gives us tremendous confidence that we can do this again in the future," Golombek said.
- The rover discovered a rock containing high amounts of silica, a mineral found in various forms on Earth. "That's very, very unusual. That's like something that happens on Earth," he said.
- Mars' temperatures were found to fluctuate greatly, sometimes as much as 20 degrees in a matter of seconds. "Your toes would be comfy and your head would need a hat," Golombek said.
Internet site sets world record
Pathfinder landed on the red planet on July 4. Its rover then rolled across the surface for more than a month, taking photographs and conducting rock-composition tests.
Along the way, the rover returned 1.2 gigabits of information -- or roughly the size of a typical novel -- and about two times more than scientists had expected. It also conducted 114 movements on command, traveled 52 meters (yards), and returned 384 images of the Martian surface. A camera from the landing site returned 9,669 images.
Golombek also said NASA's Pathfinder Web site had been extremely popular.
Computer-users who accessed the site made 565,902,373 "hits" in its 30 days of operation. The maximum number of hits for one day came on July 8, when the site recorded 46,927,609 -- "by far the largest Internet event in the history of the world," Golombek said.
• Pathfinder
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• Why Mars
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• CNN In-Depth: Space
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- Message Board: Destination Mars
Related stories:
- Recharged Pathfinder strolls through Rock Garden - August 5, 1997
- Pathfinder's mission to Mars deemed a success - July 31, 1997
- Mars rover's next stop: Mini Matterhorn - July 28, 1997
- Pathfinder experiments 'back on track' - July 22, 1997
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