Propulsion Technology/Fido

The FIDO rover is JPL's advanced technology rover that supports both current and future robotic missions on the surface of Mars. In particular, the FIDO rover conducts mission relevant field trials that simulate mission operations scenarios and validate rover technology in the areas of rover navigation and control, instrument placement, remote sensing, scientific data collection, intelligent behaviors, telemetry processing, data visualization, and mission operations tools. The FIDO team pursues unique technology developments in these areas …

…complete a science function, surface rendezvous with both natural and man-made objects, along with advanced mission operations capabilities. During future NASA Mars missions, there will be a focus on collecting samples from the Martian surface and returning these samples to Earth. The development of the advanced rover capabilities described above and the validation of these capabilities during realistic terrestrial field tests will further NASA's ability to carry out exciting scientific exploration of the Martian surface.