What are space rovers made of?

The aeroshell's main purpose is to protect the lander with the rover stowed safely inside from the intense heating of entry into the thin Martian atmosphere on landing day. The aeroshell for the Mars Exploration Rovers is based on the Mars Pathfinder and Mars Viking designs. Parts of the aeroshell. read more

A rover (or sometimes planetary rover) is a space exploration vehicle designed to move across the surface of a planet or other celestial body. Some rovers have been designed to transport members of a human spaceflight crew; others have been partially or fully autonomous robots. read more

The vehicle slows from 10,000 mph to about 1000 mph in about a minute, producing about 10"Earth gees" of acceleration on the lander and rover. Both the backshell and heat shield are made of the same materials, but the heat shield has a thicker (1/2 in) layer of the ablator. read more

The Lander Structure The spacecraft lander is a protective"shell" that houses the rover and protects it, along with the airbags, from the forces of impact. The lander is a strong, lightweight structure, consisting of a base and three sides"petals" in the shape of a tetrahedron (pyramid-shaped). read more