QUESTION:
I would like to know: If the rover can continue for six months, will this
still be JPL's main project, or will some of the scientists be re-assigned
to work on the next misson to Mars or other projects? How many people does
it take to control the rover?

ANSWER from Donna Shirley on July 15, 1997:
Actually there are very few people working on Pathfinder.  About 30
engineers and 75 scientists.  Most of the scientists are not even from JPL.
So since there are about 5000 people at JPL there are plenty of other people
to work on the other projects.  Besides, people are coming off Cassini and
Galileo and can work on the new projects.

Donna Shirley

ANSWER from Donna Shirley on October 3, 1997:
At the peak, there were about 50 engineers and 100 scientists working on
Pathfinder.  The rover control team is about 10 people.  It takes great
skill to control the rover.  We had to write the software so it can be
autonomous on Mars and also take care of itself.  Plus we had to design the
hardware to protect the rover in case the software didn't work. For
instance, the rover would not wake up by itself unless the sun shines on the
solar array AND it senses Mars gravity, which is 3/8 earth gravity.

We also had to write all the software for the rover control station which
shows the pictures from the lander and lets the rover driver figure out
where to send the rover.  There are engineers who see how well the rover is
doing and reprogram her brain when needed.  There are other engineers who
get all the information that the rover sends down and make sure she is
healthy and working right.  They also figure out what to do if something
isn't working right.  For example, the gyroscope is "drifting" so that the
rover thinks she's going in a different direction than she really is.
Finally the team decided to turn off the gyro and just navigate by counting
wheel revolutions.

Donna Shirley