Astronaut Tim Peake has accomplished quite a bit during his time in space. He competed in the London marathon via a space treadmill, and also enjoyed a few Twitter quizzes as well. However, this flamboyant astronaut will finally be doing some actual space work. Peake will be controlling a new Mars rover from the International Space Station (ISS). And he does plenty of other amazing space stuff too. Could this be vital to Martian data collection? Not sure, but it is pretty cool to think about a guy doing Twitter quizzes and running marathons while orbiting the earth, controlling a really expensive remote control toy from the ISS.
Mars and Moon Missions for New Space Rover
The exercise puts astronaut Peake behind the wheel of a new space rover with Mars and moon missions planned. The rover will be on earth and controlled from the ISS. The rover exercise is part of the Multipurpose End-To-end Robotics Operations Network (METERON) project, which will be practice for future human-rover missions on Mars and the moon. It is essentially a test for future exploration. One that astronauts can do instead of other marathon running efforts.
Make Way for Bridget Mr. Curiosity
Curiosity is the current NASA celebrity on Mars. He cruises around collecting data and taking selfies, and photos of other cool Mars stuff. But Curiosity may have to share a bit of fame for Bridget, the rover that will be controlled by astronauts from the ISS. Bridget is presently stationed at the Airbus Mars Yard in the U.K., waiting for her launch day to come. Astronaut Peake will put Bridget through a series of tests, like avoiding simulated Mars and moon obstacles.
Astronauts Taking On More During the International Space Race
Human missions to the Red Planet may be inching closer as astronauts are beginning to take a more hands-on role in the planet and lunar exploration. If the ISS rover controlled exercise is successful, it may be planned for the next Martian mission in 2020. A mission that has been rumored to be a search for lost Martian civilizations. Are Chinese and Russian astronauts doing the same?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XGkAywOkSe8
