WIKIARCHIVES.SPACE

In the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility, an overhead crane lowers Mars Exploration Rover 1 (MER-B) over the third stage of the Delta rocket. The rover will be mated to the third stage for launch. The second of twin rovers being sent to Mars, it is equipped with a robotic arm, a drilling tool, three spectrometers, and four pairs of cameras that allow it to have a human-like, 3D view of the terrain. Each rover could travel as far as 100 meters in one day to act as Mars scientists' eyes and hands, exploring an environment where humans can't yet go. MER-B is scheduled to launch from Launch Pad 17-B, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, June 26 at one of two available times, 12:27:31 a.m. EDT or 1:08:45 a.m. EDT.