WIKIARCHIVES.SPACE

Workers in the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility watch as the Mars Exploration Rover-2 (MER-2) turns. MER-2 is being tested for mobility and maneuverability. Atop the rover, on the left, can be seen the cameras, mounted on a Pancam Mast Assembly (PMA). On the right are the low-gain and high-gain antennas. Set to launch in Spring 2003, the MER Mission will consist of two identical rovers designed to cover roughly 110 yards each Martian day. Each rover will carry five scientific instruments that will allow it to search for evidence of liquid water that may have been present in the planet's past. The rovers will be identical to each other, but will land at different regions of Mars. The first rover has a launch window opening May 30, and the second rover a window opening June 25.