{QTtext}{timescale:100}{size:16}{font:Arial}{backColor:0,0,0}
{textColor:65535,65535,65535}{width:480}{height:100}{justify:left}

[00:00:00]
Mars
[00:00:03]

[00:00:10]
Mars - the Red Planet - is one of our closest neighbors in the solar system and the planet with the most similar characteristics to Earth.
[00:00:18]
JPL currently has two operating orbiters around Mars.
[00:00:22]
Rich Zurek, JPL’s Chief Scientist for Mars Exploration
These pictures are taken from different perspectives.
[00:00:25]
Here is what you do is you find the places to go put our rovers, this information helps you plan where to go and what to look at.
[00:00:33]
Two rovers (Spirit and Opportunity) continue to collect data from the surface of Mars.
[00:00:39]
Jaret Matthews, JPL Robotics Engineer
All of these rovers are examples of prototypes that we use to develop software before we go on
[00:00:43]
and build the real system, so we can work out a lot of the mechanical problems, the software problems.
[00:00:50]
Ashley Stroupe, JPL Engineering, Mars Rover Planning
This little rover can drive around on cliffs up to about 85 degrees,
[00:00:53]
that’s nearly vertical without worrying about falling.
[00:00:58]
In May 2008, after 422 million miles and 8 months of travel, Phoenix landed on the surface of Mars.
[00:01:07]
Nagin Cox, JPL Systems Engineer
Phoenix mission is to find out whether
[00:01:10]
or not there is any environment for habitability or any organics in the water ice layer on Mars.
[00:01:17]
Chris Swan, JPL Phoenix Operations Engineer
We have a stereo camera and we use that stereo camera just like you use your eyes to get distance,
[00:01:23]
and we can actually create this sort of 3D model of the Martian ground and surface with two pictures.
[00:01:31]
In 2009, JPL plans to launch Mars Science Laboratory, a large and unique rover that will be able to explore far more territory than its predecessors.
[00:01:39]
Jennifer Dooley, JPL Systems Engineer
The instrument that I work on is called CheMin (Chemistry and Mineralogy Instrument)
[00:01:45]
and what we do is we receive from SoftSpa, which is a drill that’s going to go out and drill into rocks,
[00:01:51]
and give us some crushed sample.  That crushed sample goes down into CheMin,
[00:01:56]
and we have a collimated x-ray beam that we are going to shoot through the material,
[00:02:02]
and out of that we are going to see ring patterns and those ring patterns are a characteristic of exactly what the material is.
[00:02:10]
These exciting Mars projects have specific goals as well as a common pursuit…
[00:02:14]
…to understand where and how life beyond Earth may have existed…
…or may still exist.
[00:02:18]
Jet Propulsion Laboratory California Institute of Technology
[00:02:21]