Coconino Astronomical Society: NASA’s Mars Rovers – A Brief History

Of the 21 lander missions on Mars, the Curiosity rover and Perseverance rover are currently in operation on Mars. Ken will be discussing the history of the various Mars missions and what has been discovered.

Bio: Ken Herkenhoff worked at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena for 9 years before moving to the U. S. Geological Survey’s Astrogeology Science Center in 1998, where he worked for 25 years as a research geologist. Ken is a Co-Investigator on the High-Resolution Imaging Science Experiment on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter mission and on the Mars Science Laboratory Mastcam/MAHLI/MARDI and ChemCam science teams. MSL landed on August 5, 2012 and continues to explore Gale crater on Mars. Finally, he is a Co-Investigator on the Mars 2020 Mastcam-Z science team and is enjoying his involvement in another successful rover mission!

CAS Monthly Meetings and Astronomical Programs are held the Saturday closest to the Full Moon at the Mars Hill Campus of Lowell Observatory, Hendricks Center for Planetary Studies Auditorium (6:45 pm – 8:00 pm., unless otherwise noted) followed by refreshments, and informal discussion. Meetings are open free to the public.