Abstract

Localizing Science Targets for the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) Rover
Track: Mapping
Authors: Fred Calef

The Mars Science Laboratory (MSL), the most advanced planetary rover ever, has been traveling for almost one Earth year towards the base of Mt. Sharp, a 5km high mound of flat-lying sedimentary layers in the center of the 150 km diameter Gale Crater. The goal of the mission is to search for past habitable environments near the layers on the lower part of the mound. To get there, MSL needs to traverse over 10 km from its arrival at Bradbury Landing. I will discuss the GIS datasets and tools we used to analyze and strategically guide us during the traverse, both in terms of engineering limits and science goals.