REBROADCAST...what goes on at the JPL Mars Yard? (with Hallie Abarca) Artwork

Ever Wonder? from the California Science Center

At the California Science Center, we love to wonder and be curious about the world around us. In each new episode, join host Perry Roth-Johnson as he chats with scientists, engineers, museum professionals, and others to find answers to questions you might have wondered. New episodes every other Wednesday.

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Ever Wonder? from the California Science Center

REBROADCAST...what goes on at the JPL Mars Yard? (with Hallie Abarca)

March 27, 2024 • California Science Center • Season 5 • Episode 6

It’s been a year since NASA JPL’s Perseverance rover and Ingenuity helicopter landed on Mars on February 18, 2021, bringing us spectacular new images and videos of The Red Planet. And in honor of this milestone for Percy and Ginny, we’re bringing you an unaired clip from our past interview with Hallie Abarca, a software engineer and former rover driver at JPL. She takes us behind the scenes of a special place at JPL called the “Mars Yard,” an outdoor field with red dirt made to look just like a mock Martian landscape.

Ever wonder what goes on at the JPL Mars Yard?

Hallie tells us how they use the yard to test Mars rovers right here in California.

Learn more about the Mars Yard in this video tour and this virtual tour from JPL.

Have a question you've been wondering about? Send an email or voice recording to everwonder@californiasciencecenter.org to tell us what you'd like to hear in future episodes.

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