Roving Mars: Spirit, Opportunity, and the Exploration of the Red Planet

Steven Squyres talked about his book Roving Mars: Spirit, Opportunity, and the Exploration of the Red Planet, published by Hyperion at the Houston Museum of Natural Science. In 2005, two robotic rovers named Spirit and Opportunity touched down on the surface of Mars and began to exploration of the surface of the planet. As well as being the Goldwin Smith Professor of Astronomy at Cornell University Steve Squyres was the prinicipal scientist for the Mars Exploration Rover mission. The book chronicles the mission from what began as a dream for Squyres in 1977. Now hundreds of days into what was supposed to be a 90-day mission, the two rovers have gathered data on the surface material of the planet, atmospheric conditions, as well as insight into the potential for life on the red planet. Mr. Squyres used video to illustrate the landing of the rovers and their investigation for evidence of water on Mars. He also discussed the effort spent in creating the rover and the teamwork required close