Bio: Rick Schroeder, Ph.D. Candidate University of Calgary
Rick worked with Matthew Golombek at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory in
Pasadena, CA (Project Scientist for 1997 Mars Pathfinder mission) on the
analysis of rock size and shape distributions on Mars based on images from
Viking I & II Landers and the Mars Pathfinder, as well as Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC)
Images. This internship was part of the Caltech Summer Undergraduate
Research Fellowship program. Research was done during the summer of 2002
(following the completion of his 3rd year of undergraduate education at the California State
University of Bakersfield) and continued through January 2005.
Results were used to assess landing site risk
associated with various rock shapes that tended to cause failure of the airbag
landing system in vacuum chamber tests. MOC images were used to quantify >2 m
diameter boulder distributions in landing site ellipses of the top 4 potential
landing sites. Results were presented at the 4th Annual Mars Exploration Rover
Landing Site Workshop in Pasadena, CA.
Close
|
