ESA Begins Mars Rover Tests In Chile

Zothecula writes "The Atacama desert in Chile is so dry that parts of it are utterly devoid of life down to bacteria. That and its sandy, rock-strewn terrain makes it so similar to Mars that it's a perfect spot for ESA to trial its Sample Acquisition Field Experiment with a Rover (SAFER), which this week is carrying out tests related to navigation, remote control and the use of scientific instruments. The agency's goal is the latest in a series of tests to develop technologies and gain practical experience in anticipation of ESA's launch of the ExoMars rover to the Red Planet in 2018."

Comments

Re:Why not just do it indoors?

[iggymanz]

heh, it's 600 miles long actually, 41,000 square miles.

but you could drop them off in one place to test in sandy soil, another for small pebbles, another for large rocks, small hills, large hills, etc.

much more than you can do in a room

Re:Spotted

[Incadenza]

I know you are joking, but there is plenty of water in the Atacama: rivers that originate in the Andes. They either flow out in the sea (through canyons), in salt pans, or sometimes through a tube to the coastal towns.