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NASA
Course: NASA > Unit 3
Lesson 1: Mars: Modern exploration- Satellites 101
- GAME: Cruise to Mars
- INTERACT: Exploring orbits
- Mariner 4
- Mariner 9
- Viking mission
- Mars global surveyor
- Dry ice experiment
- Pathfinder
- Mars odyssey
- Mars express
- Martian methane
- Spirit & Opportunity
- Mars reconnaissance orbiter
- Modern discoveries
- INTERACT: Features of Mars
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Pathfinder
Short video introducing the people behind the Pathfinder mission.
For more information check out NASA's mission page
. Created by NASA.Want to join the conversation?
at0:55there was a space craft falling out, was that in earth or in another planet?(8 votes)
great question! okay, the space craft was landing on mars. hope this answers your question!(3 votes)
do the rovers always land upright what happens if they land upside down(4 votes)
I think there should either be a gyroscope inside (Unlikely), or the distribution of mass would make it more likely to land upright.(1 vote)
At1:57, what are the size of the airbags and what is the pressure in it to withstand such a bounce without puncturing? What material was it made up of?(2 votes)
The Airbags were .9 meters, about 3 feet each. There were 6 per side, so 24 airbags. They were made of several layers of a synthetic fiber called Vectran. They were inflated by gas generators burning rocket propellant which were able to explosively inflate them in less than 1 second!
NASA's site here (https://mars.nasa.gov/MPF/mpf/mpfairbags.html) on the airbag system has great info on its evolution, and lots of photos(5 votes)
At1:19it says tetrahedron, what is that ?(1 vote)
Tetra means four. Hedron means a geometric solid. So a tetrahedron would be a four-sided geometric solid. An example would be a pyramid with a triangular base - where all sides and the base are equal.(5 votes)
How did Pathfinder get its name?(3 votes)- At2:35, the video shows the solar panels, but there are a number of white squares among the solar cells. Are these cells that were knocked off the panel in landing, or was it originally that way?(2 votes)
Why is the Pathfinder shaped like a round pyramid? Does this design benefit the mission?(1 vote)- I believe it was designed to be a pyramid so that the lander platform would always end up on the correct side for the pyramid to open and Sojourner to be able to roll on to Mars's terrain.(2 votes)
at0:33Brain Murihead says that the movie Titanic costed more than the Pathfinder mission . what is the actual cost of the Pathfinder mission(1 vote)
Were all those pictures of the rover on mars really on mars or we they reenacted?(1 vote)
Well, given that such a conspiracy would require tens of thousands of people to know about it without telling anyone or accidentally giving it away, I would say that it is unlikely.(1 vote)
What is sourjourner runnuing on? What is the code?(1 vote)
0:55