The Triangle

Issue date: 3/4/05 Section: Sci-Tech

Media Credit: Kelly & Massa Alder gave a speech and received an award at the ceremony held Feb. 22

Mark Adler, Mars Exploration Program Architect and Rover Mission Manager at NASA, was named the Engineer of the Year at a CoE banquet held Feb. 25. Adler spoke at the Union League about past, present and future Mars explorations, including landings and the discovery of water on the planet's surface.

The Engineer of the Year award is presented to an engineer recognized for their cumulative outstanding accomplishments that have improved the nation. It is Drexel's most prestigious award for an engineer.

The audience included Drexel alumni, trustees, faculty, staff and students. One guest noted "You couldn't get this information from a better source." Alder is the sole manager for the past Mars landings and is in constant communication with the two current Rovers on Mars as well as the two Orbiters circling Mars.

Media Credit: Kelly & Massa

Mars exploration started in the late '60s early '70s and came to a quick stop due to the lack of findings of water on Mars. Because the original exploration of Mars thought water did not exist, Mars exploration had no relevance for continued travel. But in the '90s, when Adler joined NASA-JPL, Mars exploration was started once again after a scientist discovered a small sign of water markings on the planet.

Adler and his team began preparation for travel. From Earth Mars Orbits or Rovers can only be launched once every 23 months, due to the line up of planets.

Adler and his team found was that there were definite signs of water on Mars, and further travel uncovered water just below the top layer of Mars. Water could be the key to life on Mars.

Adler was formerly the Mars Exploration Rover Mission Manager and oversaw the Mission System of the Mars Exploration Rover Project from May 2000 to Oct. 2004.

This NASA project launched two scientific exploration rovers to two different sites on Mars in mid-2003, with both landing successfully in early 2004. Each rover carried out a three-month mission to explore its site and perform detailed morphological and mineralogical investigations. As of Jan. 2005, the rovers continue these missions.

Media Credit: Kelly & Massa

Adler earned his B.A. in mathematics and his M.S. in electrical engineering from the University of Florida and his Ph.D. in physics from the California Institute of Technology. From 1985 to 1992, before he began working at NASA, Adler worked with the Hughes Aircraft Company.

Included in Adler's slideshow presentation were recent pictures of Mars, taken from the day before. Adler also displayed the new Rover that will hopefully be sent to Mars within the next couple of years. The Rover is about the size of a standard automobile found here on Earth, and will be able to take high resolution pictures, drive over all types of terrain and also test small samples of rock within its on board laboratory.

Additionally, Adler spoke of the Mars Sample Return Mission, for which he directing system design and technology development. This mission should take place by 2014, in which Rovers will collect samples of Mars rock, about the size of a small coffee cup, and bring them back to Earth for scientific analysis. Adler was even hopeful about sending humans to Mars one day.

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