Here is some interesting information that you might not know about the Mars
mission.

I had thought that the rocket was launched last December within some window
that if they had missed it, they would have had to wait until sometime this
summer to reschedule the launch.  This corresponds to the 7 months
mentioned in the attached.  However, this does not correspond to the "3
years" that was mentioned as the time it would take for an individual to
make a round trip to Mars.

I'm not a "rocket scientist" so I have no idea why a rocket with the lander
and rover would only take 7 months and a rocket with a couple of
individuals would take 18 months.  Anyone have any insight on this?

BTW, I would like to thank Wirt for the all the work on the pictures and
information.  While it may be "off topic" for the group, I am sure I am not
the only one who appreciates the work and postings to the list... Thanks
Wirt!
         ___
        /  /            Larry Boyd: Horizontal Growth Solution Manager
HEWLETT/hp/PACKARD      Commercial Systems Division (CSY)
      /__/              [log in to unmask]        (408)447-4127

All opinions are my own, and not necessarily those of Hewlett-Packard.


-----Original Message-----



ROLL, ROVER.  Those of you following the exploits of the Sojourner
rover as it rolls across the surface of Mars might be interested to
know that Hewlett-Packard played a part in getting the 25-pound
explorer to the Red Planet.  The navigation applications for the
Pathfinder lander were run exclusively on an HP platform,
consisting of HP 9000 J-class and Series 700 Model 735
workstations.

Here are a pair of interesting tidbits regarding the mission: the
Pathfinder traveled 312 million miles (500 million kilometers) on
its 7-month journey to catch up with Mars.  And the rover was named
after a year-long, worldwide essay competition open to students
under 18 years of age.  It's namesake was Sojourner Truth, an
African-American reformist who lived during the era of the U.S.
Civil War in the 19th Century.  Twelve-year-old Valerie Ambrose of
Bridgeport, Connecticut, submitted the winning essay.