June 26, 2007

	Ribbon cutting: Samad Hayati, Manager of Mars Technology Program, (left), Gene Tattini, JPL Deputy Director (center), Firouz Naderi, JPL Associate Director (right).

A new MarsYard to test the mobility and autonomy of future Mars rovers was unveiled at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory on June 19, 2007. This new facility is approximately 21,000 square feet, six times larger than the previous MarsYard, and includes a new building that will be used to house rover operations.

This test facility will be used by the Mars Technology Program to test new capabilities developed under this program. The facility will also be utilized by the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) project to test and validate its rover capabilities. MSL's prototype rover called scarecrow was also unveiled in this ribbon-cutting ceremony. This rover, which measures over 2 meters in length and width, is capable of carrying large science payloads and can traverse on much rougher terrain than the Mars Exploration Rovers.

JPL's new MarsYard

Scarecrow demonstrates its mobility capabilities