49 Are We Alone in the Universe? The Science and Strategies to Search for Evidence of Past Life on Earth, in the Solar System, and Beyond: In Memory of Jack Farmer—Father of Exopaleontology, Face of Astrobiology, Teacher to Thousands Around the World (Posters)

Sunday, 15 October 2023
8:00 AM - 5:30 PM
Hall B

MARS EXPLORATION ROVERS PORTAL TO OBSERVATIONS, RESOURCES, AND TOOLS TO ADVANCE LEGACY SCIENCE (MER PORTAL): EXPANDING THE HERITAGE OF AN HISTORIC PLANETARY MISSION

Paper number: 49-8
Program: Special Sessions
Time: 8:00 AM – 5:30 PM

Authors

Abstract

The Mars Exploration Rovers (MER) mission was the first long-duration surface exploration of another world. Spirit and Opportunity accumulated a combined 20 years of daily data from cameras and other instruments: the full MER dataset encompasses several million data products.These data have not been fully analyzed and could be used by scientists and educators from a variety of disciplines; however, it can be very difficult to find and use data from a planetary mission if one doesn’t have a connection to the mission team. The MER PORTAL is intended to enable anyone to discover and analyze MER data, and could provide a model for preserving datausability for other missions.

The MER PORTAL will consist of: (1) User Guides and educational materials documenting rover instruments and analysis techniques, based on interviews with MER team members; (2) science-based search functions for finding data; (3) contextual information and data quality indicators; (4) graphing, mapping, time conversion, and other tools for data visualization; and (5) an annotated bibliography of other online tools and resources.

Phase 1 of the MER PORTAL project is funded by a 3-year NASA PDART21 grant. In this phase we will: (1) interview MER team members to preserve team knowledge, and write an initial set of User Guides; (2) develop image interpretation training materials and lesson plans for high school/college level; and (3) compile a set of references to online tools and resourcesrecommended by the MER team. We are partnering with the Southwest Indian Polytechnic Institute (SIPI), a national Native American community college in New Mexico, to develop the image interpretation materials and lesson plans.

EDIA is a core value in the MER PORTAL project. Our team consists of a diverse group of people whose goal is to make MER data fully accessible to everyone including experienced Mars researchers, students, teachers, space enthusiasts, and people with a range of abilities and disabilities. Our Accessibility Consultant, a geoscientist who identifies as a person with disabilities, has been a member of our project team from the start ensuring that we go beyond the minimum requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. Vol. 55, No. 6

doi: 10.1130/abs/2023AM-393639

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