Rover

Blue-Print-Style Rover Sketch, Artist's Concept

This artist's sketch is loosely based on the Curiosity rover in NASA's Mars Science Laboratory mission. Mission planners would potentially leverage aspects of this rover design for a Mars mission designed to launch in 2020.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

The rover for this mission would be based on the Mars Science Laboratory's Curiosity rover configuration. It would be car-sized, about 10 feet long (not including the arm), 9 feet wide, and 7 feet tall (about 3 meters long, 2.7 meters wide, and 2.2 meters tall). The arm reach would be about 7 feet (2.2 meters).

In some sense, the rover parts for this mission will be similar to what any living creature would need to keep it "alive" and able to explore.

The rover would have a:

• body: a structure that protects the rovers' "vital organs"
• brains: computers to process information
• temperature controls: internal heaters, a layer of insulation, and more
• "neck and head": a mast for the cameras to give the rover a human-scale view
• eyes and other "senses": cameras and instruments that give the rover information about its environment
• arm and "hand": a way to extend its reach and collect rock samples for study
• wheels and "legs": parts for mobility
• energy: batteries and power
• communications: antennas for "speaking" and "listening"

The specific components would depend on current pre-project planning and the development of science objectives.