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...
remember scientist i-can
I can't ever remember not wanting to be a scientist.
way turns
There's no way to actually turn the rover off.
rocks giving water
We have concluded that the rocks here were once soaked in liquid water. It changed their texture, and it changed their chemistry. We've been able to read the tell-tale clues the water left behind, giving us confidence in that conclusion.
hiking hills climbs
We didn't know if the rover could climb up or down the hills of the crater.
leadership style
My style of leadership is to lead with the lightest touch that I possibly can.
trust responsibility share
Having been given that public trust, we have a responsibility to share with the public.
mission today
Today is day 591 of our 90-day mission to Mars.
barely driving exposed found gotten ground hard leave parts region stuff summit
What we have found once we've gotten up into the summit region...the driving has gotten very, very good. The ground is hard here. There is not a lot of fine-grain stuff around. What there is piled up in drifts. This is because the summit region is exposed to the wind; it's very windy. In some parts of the summit region, we barely leave tracks.
awe business deciding seeing waiting
We're just waiting. We're just in awe of what we're seeing and we're just waiting to see the whole thing so we can really get about the business of deciding what to do.
across columbia far hills january looked necessary night order plains quickly realized seemed sought stuff touched water whether
When we first touched down at Gusev Crater on the night of January 4, 2004, the Columbia Hills seemed impossibly far away. It was a necessary place for us to get to, though, because as we looked across the plains we quickly realized these plains were made of basaltic lava. This was stuff that was interesting but did not tell us what we really sought to know about Gusev Crater, and that is whether there had been water here. So in order to find something, in order to find something different, we had to make that mile-and-a-half drive.
home material mean seen stuff widespread
We have no idea yet how widespread Home Plate-like material may be. We have not seen anything like this before, but it doesn't mean there isn't more stuff out there.
bit deciding downhill easier factor geology good potential vehicles
The deciding factor will be how good the geology is. I think going downhill has the potential to go a bit faster, it's easier to go downhill with these vehicles than going up.