Steve Squyres
Steve Squyres
Steven W. Squyresis the James A. Weeks Professor of Physical Sciences at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. His research area is in planetary sciences, with a focus on large solid bodies in the solar system such as the terrestrial planets and the moons of the Jovian planets. Squyres is principal investigator of the Mars Exploration Rover Mission. He is the recipient of the 2004 Carl Sagan Memorial Award and the 2009 Carl Sagan Medal for Excellence in Communication in...
anniversary entire mars seen year
I actually see the Mars year anniversary as being more significant, ... We will have seen Mars over an entire seasonal cycle.
discovery driven speed survival travel
Our speed of travel is driven as much by survival as by discovery.
dark dealing mystery origin time
One mystery we've been dealing with for a long time is the origin of the little dark 'cobbles' that we occasionally see out on the plains.
dark dealing mystery origin time
One mystery weve been dealing with for a long time is the origin of the little dark cobbles that we occasionally see out on the plains,
bedrock continue heading south studying toward victoria
For Opportunity, we're going to continue south through the etched terrain, studying bedrock as we go and heading toward Victoria crater.
challenge driving five six terrain
Driving in that terrain was a challenge with all six wheels. With five wheels, it was a mess.
along landing launch risk
The launch is a milestone, but just one of many along the way. Landing historically is where the most risk is involved.
argument asked british climb compelling everest famous george million mission mount reason reply rover trying
The British mountaineer George Mallory was once famously asked why he was trying to climb Mount Everest and his famous reply was 'because it is there.' That's a compelling argument when you are a mountaineer. But for an $850 million rover mission you better have a better reason than that.
challenges deal financial huge launch pad technical
They'd had to deal with huge technical as well as financial challenges. Just to get Beagle 2 to the launch pad is a huge accomplishment.
appear berries bit clearly debating numerous rocks seem seen smaller
The berries are more numerous here, and some seem to be smaller than any weve ever seen. And interestingly, some dont appear to be round. Were still debating what this means, but clearly the hematite is distributed a bit differently here than it has been in any other rocks weve seen at Meridiani,
climb columbia far heck hills looked touched
That's no Mt. Everest, but it's a heck of a climb for our little rover. When we first touched down at Gusev Crater on Jan. 4, 2004, the Columbia Hills looked impossibly far away.
climb columbia far heck hills looked touched
That's no Mt. Everest, but it's a heck of a climb for our little rover, ... When we first touched down at Gusev Crater on Jan. 4, 2004, the Columbia Hills looked impossibly far away.
along chris dig driving dust hills lee mountain remember rock shadow side slip struggling stuck stuff wheels wind
Chris will remember vividly as we were struggling along the northwestern flank of that mountain how much loose, fine-grain stuff there was. Our wheels would dig in, we'd slip around and we'd dig in deep. Remember that potato-sized rock we got stuck in the wheel once? It was really treacherous driving because there was accumulated dust there. We were probably in the wind shadow on the lee side of the hills at that point.
busy quite
So there's enough to keep us busy here for quite a long time.