Materials Adherence Experiment on Mars Pathfinder: early results [space power]

Abstract

The Materials Adherence Experiment ("MAE") on the Pathfinder "Sojoumer" Rover will measure the dust deposition rate on space power solar cell arrays. By August, the Sojourner Rover on Mars Pathfinder will have completed its primary mission, and the experiment will have data on dust deposition during the first three weeks of operation on Mars. This paper present the initial data from the experiment. This is the first presentation of the results from the Pathfinder MAE experiment.