On July 4, 1997, the eyes of the world were focused on the high-risk entry, descent, and landing (EDL) of Mars Pathfinder (MPF). The mission employed a system of aeroshell, parachute, altimeter, retrorockets, and airbags in an audacious attempt to emplace a small science station on Mars and deploy a microrover for short-scale exploration. The project was implemented under NASA's new "faster-better-cheaper" (FBC) paradigm, which included a short development cycle and a hard cost cap. MPF and Sojourner, "the little rover that could," proved to be highly successful and received much press at the time.1 2 The Mars Pathfinder team had produced a set of lessons learned presentations following launch. This material captured what were believed to be the key lessons, both positive and negative, from 5 years of difficult and dynamic work, and was intended to offer guidance to future NASA projects. Over time, however, what had been considered to be " lessons" in 1997 would be questioned by future FBC and non-FBC projects. Looking back from a vantage point 10 years after MPF launch in December 1996, it is possible to more objectively separate out the enduring lessons from ones that did not remain valid, represented one-time-only occurrences, or carried unintended adverse consequences. Today's assessment encompasses what worked, what did not work, and what could have been done better, from a 2006 perspective.


    Access

    Check access

    Check availability in my library

    Order at Subito €


    Export, share and cite



    Title :

    Ten Years After: Enduring Lessons Learned from Mars Pathfinder


    Contributors:


    Publication date :

    2007-03-01


    Size :

    439959 byte





    Type of media :

    Conference paper


    Type of material :

    Electronic Resource


    Language :

    English




    Mars Pathfinders Lessons Learned from the Mars Pathfinder Project Managers Perspective. The Future Road

    Anderson, R. / Muirhead, B. / Hayes, N. et al. | British Library Conference Proceedings | 1998


    Mars Pathfinder's lessons learned from the Mars Pathfinder Project Manager's perspective and the future road

    Spear, A. J. / International Academy of Astronautics | British Library Conference Proceedings | 1999


    The Mars Pathfinder Commercial Hardware and Microgryo (CHG) Experiment: Lessons Already Learned

    Caldwell, D. W. / Utah State University; Center for Space Engineering / AIAA | British Library Conference Proceedings | 1995


    Mars Pathfinder

    Clawson, J. F. | NTRS | 1998