Robot to Go to Mars to Study Its Terrain

A six-wheeled robot the size of a large toy truck will head for Mars in December, but no humans are likely to go until the second decade of the 21st century, NASA’s chief said. The Sojourner robot is meant to function as a mechanical geologist, looking at the terrain and sending back pictures as part of a 10-mission program previewed at a briefing by Daniel S. Goldin, head of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Sojourner is expected to arrive on Mars on July 4, 1997. Cameras will beam images back to Earth, which will be available on the Internet.