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December 18, 2002 -- NASA Testing K9 Rover in New "Marscape" for Future Missions

NASA scientists and engineers are testing new technologies using a K9 rover in a newly built "Marscape" test facility in preparation for future missions to Mars. Testing is being conducted at NASA Ames Research Center in California's Silicon Valley in a 3/4-acre "Marscape" that has been designed to resemble the terrain on Mars. Constructed at a cost of about $74,000, the test facility incorporates the environmental and geological features of Mars that hold the greatest scientific interest. The Marscape features a dry lakebed and outflow channel, a meteorite impact crater, a volcanic zone containing a dry hydrothermal spring and an area that scientists describe as "chaotic terrain." Related News Release

K9 rover on  
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Closer view of K9 rover on  
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High angle view of K9 rover  
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K9 rover taking samples from  
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Closer view of K9 rover taking samples from  
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Side angle view of K9 rover taking samples from  
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Side angle view of the K9 rover on  
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Testing K9 rover on  
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K9 rover approaches rock on  
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Side angle view of the K9 rover approaching a rock on  
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K9 rover being lifted during testing on  
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K9 rover's focusable microscopic camera  
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K9 rover's one of six wheels  
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K9 rover testing at  
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K9 rover demonstration at  
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K9 rover's demonstration is recorded in NASA's Ames Research Center  
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K9 rover takes sample from a rock in NASA's Ames Research Center  
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