Rocky 7 - Mojave Desert Field Experiments March 1997 Helicopter Flights

In order to prepare for the May 1997 field tests of the Rocky 7 prototype Mars rover, the test site was overflown by a Jet Ranger helicopter to obtain simulated descent images of rover traverse sites. The images were acquired on March 15, 1997, using a 70 mm Hasselblad camera with a 40mm focal length lens. The camera has a horizontal field of view of 67 degrees. Figures 1 and 2 show the Lavic Lake area as seen by the Landsat Thematic Mapper in bands 2, 4, and 7 as blue, green, and red.

Science Plan

Full description of March 1997 helicopter flights.

Figure 1

Broad view of field test site from Landsat Thematic Mapper.

Figure 2

Detailed view of proposed rover traverse and waypoints superimposed on Landsat Thematic Mapper image.

• Waypoint A
• Waypoint B
• Waypoint C
• Waypoint D

• Waypoint A
• Waypoint B
• Waypoint C
• Waypoint D