Spacetec Controller Used in Mars Pathfinder Mission

As part of the Mars Pathfinder Mission, NASA is using a Spacetec IMC Spaceball 2003 controller to drive the surface-roving Sojourner craft. "We knew they had some of our products at JPL and NASA, but we were a little surprised to find out that they were using the 2003 on this mission," said Jane O'Toole, the director of marketing for Spacetec.

O'Toole learned of NASA's use of her company's controller on a Good Morning America segment.

The 2003 is the most widely-used 3-D controller in the computer aided design (CAD) marketplace. "It's the same basic technology that's in the SpaceOrb 360 controller used for games," says O'Toole.

Spacetec has been a major player in the high-end CAD market for several years. Rover driver Brian Cooper bought the 1003 model in 1989 and has been using Spacetec products ever since. NASA's commitment to "better, faster, cheaper," lead to its decision to use an off-the-shelf controller on the Pathfinder project.

Because the lag time between Earth and Mars is about 11 minutes, Cooper doesn't drive Sojourner in real time. Instead he uses stereographic imagery beamed back from the planet to plot the rover's course. Using the 2003, Cooper cruises the virtual planet surface on his computer screen and drops "lawn darts," as he calls them, to show the rover where to go. An animated representation of the rover then follows the projected path, and, if it's satisfactory, the course is beamed up via satellite for the real rover to carry out.

The life span of the rover is projected to be about six months. Mission scientists hope to scope out an area the size of a football field before the equipment fails.