Discovering Mars: U.S. Space and Rocket Center unveils new exhibit on robotic explorers
Always with eyes looking to the sky with designs on exploring the final frontier, the U.S. Space and Rocket Center held a ribbon-cutting ceremony to usher in its latest museum attraction.
The exhibit — Discovering Mars, Robot Explorers – “showcases the five very successful missions that have explored the Martian surface,’’ said Dr. Kimberly Robinson, the center’s CEO and Executive Director.
The exhibits feature models, as all the machinery the United States has sent to the Red Planet to prepare for exploration and potential future habitation remains on Mars.
“Let me introduce you to the crew,’’ Robinson said, regarding the robots.
“We have from the Mars Pathfinder mission Sojourner, our earliest rover,” said Robinson. “For the Mars Exploration Rover mission, Spirit and Opportunity, who are identical twins. We have Opportunity, which holds the longest off-road, off-planet record in history. We have Curiosity, of course, which is still active on the surface today, along with the Mars Lander at the far end. And let’s not forget our latest and one of our greatest, which is the Ingenuity helicopter, which traveled to the Martian surface along with Perseverance.’’
Robinson added that vehicles are used as a precursor to eventual human flight because they can withstand extreme temperatures and radiation as scientists and engineers map plans for humans to travel farther into space.
“They’re at the forefront of space exploration, leading the way for future human missions to our nearest planetary neighbor, Mars,’’ she said.
Opportunity has been on Mars for 15 years, sending data back to Earth, just like the other machines.
“They can help identify potential hazards to inform future human missions to Mars, helping turn those dreams into reality,’’ Robinson said. “We hope this exhibit will help all of our visitors understand the work that has been done and the value of continuing to explore.’’
Curator Ed Stewart said he hopes the new exhibit will further enlighten visitors.
“I hope that our guests will come in, and they’ll obviously learn about what we’ve been doing as NASA and exploring Mars,’’ Stewart said. “But I hope it also brings a sense of exploration and a sense of wonder and piques everybody’s curiosity to learn more about all these super fascinating pieces of technology and what we’ve learned about Mars.’’
