For Mars rovers, a friendly rivalry
Friday, June 10, 2011 - 12:30
in Astronomy & Space
NASA's newest Mars rover - or a replica of it, anyway - sat expectantly at the bottom of a hill. After years in design and construction, the grandly named Mars Science Laboratory was ready to test its wheels on a 20-degree flagstone slope in the "Mars Yard" at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in La Canada Flintridge, Calif.