Mars rover prototype drives 220 metres in Spanish desert test

The prototype, called Charlie, travelled 220 metres over eight days in the Tabernas desert in south-eastern Spain. A science team about 1,200 kilometres away directed its work as part of a wider 20-day test campaign involving around 100 scientists and engineers from across Europe. Charlie is not the rover that will fly to Mars. [1]

Built by Airbus, Charlie used the guidance and navigation software intended for Rosalind Franklin. Scientists at the Rover Operations Control Centre in Turin used images, radar and spectral data from prototype instruments to choose places worth investigating. The mission’s aim is to search for clues to ancient microbial activity, not something the desert test could establish. [1]

Rosalind Franklin rover operations lead Luc Joudrier said Charlie travelled more than 60 metres without an operator driving it on the sixth day, with a navigation error of less than 1%. The team also had to assess a slope that initially looked difficult to judge from rover data; a digital elevation map showed it was gentle. Rain interrupted testing on another day. [1]