by Caleb Fort
Daily Lobo
UNM professor Barbara Cohen is one of eight scientists chosen by NASA to participate with the Mars Exploration Rover team.
"I'm totally elated," Cohen said. "I get to drive these rovers around Mars. It's the most amazing thing."
The rovers are operated from Earth by remote control.
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
She said the idea of controlling a machine millions of miles away is appealing.
"I've never controlled a spacecraft before, so I think that's just a really cool thing," Cohen said.
The eight scientists, including Cohen, will be added to the 49 people on the team, according to NASA's Web site.
The team decides where the two rovers will move and what objects they will examine, said Curt Niebur, program scientist for the rovers. The team also analyzes the data the rovers collect, he said.
Niebur said 35 people submitted proposals. Cohen's proposal was chosen because it had solid science and wanted to answer interesting questions, he said.
Cohen's research at UNM is about meteors and their effect when they hit Earth or other planets. She said the Mars rovers present a unique opportunity in her field of study, because craters and other evidence left behind by impacts are preserved better than on the Earth.
She said craters on Earth erode quickly.
However, she said, researching meteors on Mars is harder than doing it in her lab.
"It presents a lot of challenges, in that you're doing this remotely," Cohen said. "You can't hold it in your hand, you can't put it under a microscope."
She said the rovers have a small number of instruments compared to her lab. She said it might be challenging to do something as simple as figuring out what kind of rock the rover is holding.
NASA decided to add more people to the team because the rovers had been running for so long, Niebur said.
The rovers were originally expected to run for about 90 days, but they have now been running for about two years, according to the NASA Web site.
"We've come to the point now where everyone on the team realizes we need additional help," Niebur said.
Although it was good the rovers are lasting so long, it also places stress on the team, Niebur said. He said adding members is the latest step to take strain off the existing team.
For example, the team originally lived on Mars time so they would be awake during the day, when the rovers move about, Niebur said. He said Mars has a day 40 minutes longer than an Earth day. After it became clear the mission would last longer than expected, the team switched to normal time, he said.
Cohen will do her job for NASA from UNM. Every day the team has a large teleconference during which they decide what the rover should do, Niebur said.
Cohen said it will be challenging to communicate effectively with so many people over the phone.
Cohen's contract with NASA lasts two years. She will get paid $60,000 per year for her work, she said.
If the rovers die before her contract expires, she will help analyze the huge amount of data the rovers have sent back, Niebur said.
Cohen will begin training in November.
