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

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).