U.S. has breakfast on Friday with Cornell Mars scientist Squyres
June 6, 2003
By Blaine P. Friedlander Jr.
CAPE CANAVERAL, FLA. -- America ate breakfast with Cornell University astronomer
Steven Squyres Friday morning (June 6). The scientist appeared on all the network morning news programs
to explain the importance of the launch of the first of two Mars Exploration Rovers on Sunday, June 8.
Speaking from the clean room at the Kennedy Space Center, Cape Canaveral, Squyres
told Lester Holt, on NBC's "Today" show, that the twin-rover mission will be quite different from the
Mars Pathfinder mission in 1997. "On Pathfinder we were demonstrating the technology. Here we're
taking that technology to explore more of Mars this time," he said.
Squyres, NASA's principal investigator for the mission's Athena science package, to be
carried by the two roving vehicles, told Holt that "this time we're sending two rovers to opposite sides of the
red planet" and "we're using a tried-and-true landing system" to get there. The second rover is scheduled
to be launched on June 25.
Humanity has always been curious about the planets, noted Squyres, adding that Mars is a
"cold, dry, barren and desolate place." But, he said, "we're going to two places where we think there
might have been water. We have some hints of it."
On "Fox Morning News," Squyres explained to viewers that the mission on the planet's
surface will be conducted by robotic geologists, with cameras and spectrometers aboard the rovers looking
for rocks, and with a rock abrasion tool grinding at rocks to gather more information. "I don't know
what we're going to find," he said.
Squyres could not keep his happiness and excitement about the Mars mission hidden behind
his clean-room suit and face garb. "We will be trying to read the story that the rocks are telling us, and
we'll probably get a few surprises," he told NBC.
Squyres will be participating in a NASA press conference at Kennedy Space Center on
Friday, June 6, at 2 p.m.
