Third-Generation Mars Rover Dwarfs Predecessors

This image shows the front sides of three rovers viewed at an angle. On the right is the Mars Science Laboratory rover, which is the size of a small sport utility vehicle. Its 7-foot-long arm is extended in front of it, resting on the pavement. The camera 'eyes' at the top of its mast are turned downward at its smaller predecessors. In the middle, the tiny, wagon-size Sojourner rover has a deployable, alpha-particle X-ray spectrometer and single-color camera attached at its rear. On the left, the dune-buggy-size Mars Exploration Rover has its robotic arm extended in front of it, resting on the pavement. The panoramic camera 'eyes' at the top of its mast are turned upward, as if 'looking' at the bigger Mars Science Laboratory rover. All three rovers have six wheels, rocker-bogey suspension systems, rectangular bodies, solar panels, and antennas pointing upward from their spacecraft decks.