Autonomy for Pathfinder

The Mars Pathfinder Rover is being given a longer leash.

On Thursday, National Aeronautics and Space Administration NASA engineers radioed up commands for the Sojourner Rover to make a self-guided, 10-foot 3 meter trip using internal sensing systems to stay out of trouble.

Friday8217;s excursion was to take Sojourner through a rocky patch toward a rock dubbed souffle.

8220;This should be a good test of the Rover8217;s autonomous capabilities,8221; said Richard Cook, mission manager at NASA8217;s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena. 8220;The Rover will try to drive in a straight line as long as it can, and if something is in the way, it will drive around it, using lasers and cameras for guidance,8221; Cook said. During two communications sessions with the spacecraft, controllers received more of a panoramic view of the landscape.