It’s Only Common Sense: The Phone Is Still Mightier Than the Keyboard
The Marketing Minute: Marketing With Layers
Media Meet NASA's Mars 2020 Rover and Builders
January 7, 2020 | NASA JPLEstimated reading time: 2 minutes
Members of the media walked the clean-room floor at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, on Dec. 27 to glimpse the agency's Mars 2020 rover and speak with experts working on the mission. It was the media's only opportunity to see the rover from inside the clean room prior to its shipment to Cape Canaveral in February.
"It was a great opportunity for the media not only to see our work close up, but to meet some of the women and men who have dedicated several years of their careers ensuring this next Mars rover lives up to the legacy of those that were built here before it," said David Gruel, the Mars 2020 assembly, test and launch operations manager at JPL.
The clean room, also known as the Spacecraft Assembly Facility's High Bay 1, is where all four of NASA's Mars rovers were constructed: the microwave-oven-sized Sojourner, which landed in 1997; the golf-cart-sized Mars Exploration Rovers Spirit and Opportunity, which landed in 2004; and Curiosity rover, about the size of a Mini Cooper, which has been exploring the Red Planet's Mount Sharp region since 2012.
Scheduled to launch in July or August 2020, the Mars 2020 rover will land in Jezero Crater on Feb. 18, 2021. There it will search for signs of past microbial life, characterize Mars' climate and geology, collect samples for future return to Earth and pave the way for human exploration of the Red Planet.
Both to ensure that as few Earthly microbes as possible hitch a ride to Mars and to keep out particles that could interfere with the rover's operations, High Bay 1 comes with strict cleanliness standards: Anyone entering the clean room, whether a technician or a journalist, must wear a "bunny suit," booties, a hair cover, a face mask and latex gloves. Because notepads and writing implements could shed dust and other particles, specially-approved paper and pens were provided to visiting media members on request.
In the coming weeks, engineers and technicians will pack the 2020 rover into a specially-designed container. After it arrives at the Cape, Mars 2020 will undergo final processing and testing before launch.
JPL built and will manage operations of the Mars 2020 rover for NASA. NASA's Launch Services Program, based at the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, is responsible for launch management.
Mars 2020 is part of a larger program that includes missions to the Moon as a way to prepare for human exploration of the Red Planet. Charged with returning astronauts to the Moon by 2024, NASA will establish a sustained human presence on and around the Moon by 2028 through NASA's Artemis lunar exploration plans.
Images of the Mars 2020 Media Day can be found here.
A compilation of Mars 2020 construction video and mission animation is available at here.
For more information about the mission, go to: mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/
Share on:
Testimonial
"Your magazines are a great platform for people to exchange knowledge. Thank you for the work that you do."
Simon Khesin - Schmoll MaschinenSuggested Items
Waging the Battle for American PCB Reshoring
10/21/2025 | Marcy LaRont, PCB007 MagazineLegislation is shaping global trade, tariffs, and sustainability and environmental regulations. David Schild of PCBAA discusses exactly where the U.S. stands in its efforts to reshore printed circuit board manufacturing for critical industries. This conversation at PCB West occurred on the first day of the federal government’s shutdown, so it seemed especially timely to hear David's thoughts and insights on how the current political climate is affecting efforts to achieve the U.S. industry’s reshoring goals.
The Right Approach: Electro-Tek—A Williams Family Legacy, Part 1
10/15/2025 | Steve Williams -- Column: The Right ApproachThere is no bronze bust in the lobby or portrait in the conference room of Electro-Tek's founder—my Dad, Charles “Chuck” Williams—so with the facility closing last year after 56 years, I feel it is time to tell the story. Chuck Williams founded Electro-Tek in 1968 in our basement, eventually moving into the second floor of an old 1913 building in downtown Milwaukee that is still standing (the first of three eventual facilities).
ICT Symposium Review: Sustainability and the Circular Economy
10/09/2025 | Pete Starkey, I-Connect007It was pleasant autumnal weather as we made our way once again to Meriden, the nominal centre of England, for the 2025 Annual Symposium of the Institute of Circuit Technology. Delegates were welcomed by technical director Emma Hudson who introduced and moderated a skilfully coordinated programme, focused on the highly relevant theme of sustainability.
Hardware Engineers, Manufacturing Leaders Ready to ‘Build Better’ Electronics
10/06/2025 | Marcy LaRont, I-Connect007According to Instrumental’s dynamic CEO, Anna-Katrina Shedletsky, the Build Better Electronics Manufacturing Summit on Sept. 30 was a passion project meant to provide a forum for hardware engineering senior leadership, who have very busy jobs and limited opportunities, to share information, thought leadership, and networking opportunities. “Build Better is really about cross-pollination and sharing,” she said, as she highlighted the importance of supporting this type of sharing in tech, which may be more important than ever before.
I-Connect007 Editor’s Choice: Five Must-Reads for the Week
10/03/2025 | Andy Shaughnessy, I-Connect007It’s been a busy week. We’ve been covering PCB West, and we’ll be bringing you a variety of news and interviews from the show in the next few weeks. We’ll also be attending SMTA International later this month, and productronica as trade show season rolls on. This week, we have a number of interesting columns and news items. We start with a positive story about North American PCB sales, which were heading in the right direction in August. Don Ball writes about the ins and out of working with overseas partners, and there’s a great column by Dan Beaulieu on avoiding the temptation to offer discounts when your customer gets squirrely.