Watch: NASA Performs ‘Dance of the Rover’ to Transport Mars 2020

NASA engineers move the Mars 2020 rover into a large vacuum chamber for testing (via NASA/JPL-Caltech)

Eight months ahead of its scheduled launch, NASA’s Mars 2020 rover is undergoing testing at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California.

Last month, bunny-suited engineers moved the vehicle from the Spacecraft Simulator Building into the facility’s large vacuum chamber for testing in Mars-like environmental conditions.

It’s not as easy as someone grabbing each corner and lifting, though.

“Whenever you move the rover, it’s a big deal,” JPL engineer Chris Chatellier explained. “There is a technician on every corner, and other engineers and safety inspectors are monitoring and assisting every step of the way.

“Ever move is choreographed, briefed, and rehearsed,” he said in a statement.

The Dance of the Rover, as I like to call it.

See for yourself in this time-lapse video, published Thursday by NASA.

It’s hard to understand the painstaking detail with which the process is completed when you’re watching in fast-forward.

But you get the gist.

Following chamber testing, the rover was moved back to JPL’s Spacecraft Assembly Facility, where it is undergoing radio-emissions testing.

Over the summer, NASA offered a sneak peek into the building and testing process of its machinery; fans can watch the video, recorded live from a JPL clean room in July.

And keep up with all the action on NASA’s YouTube channel or via the Mars 2020 Mission webpage.

The Mars 2020 Mission is expected to launch next July and touchdown inside the Red Planet’s Jezero Crater in February 2021.

Upon arrival, the vehicle will conduct a series of tasks, including leveraging a pair of high-definition cameras, also known as Mastcam-Z shooters, that aim to increase the rover’s driving and core-sampling capabilities.

The cameras will also allow scientists on Earth to take note of mineralogical, morphologic, structural, and textural details on Mars.

More on Geek.com:

• NASA Tests Mars 2020 Rover Prototype at Icelandic Lava Field
• Watch: Mars 2020 Rover Flexes Mechanical Arm
• NASA’s Mars 2020 Rover Gets Its Space Legs, Wheels

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