Engineers prefer sending rovers to the same spot on Mars; NASA scientist explains why

Mars is currently home to three active rovers sent from Earth, two of which belong to NASA whereas one was launched by the China National Space Administration (CNSA). All three robots are scanning the red planet's features to learn more about its history and find signs of life if any. However, what's fascinating is that all these rovers are not too far from each other and NASA scientist Christine M. Rodrigue, who worked on the Cassini mission, has explained why is it so.

It's scientists Vs engineers: Rodrigue

All three rovers on Mars- China's Zhurong rover and NASA's Curiosity and Perseverance- are currently close to the Olympus Mons, which is the largest volcano in the entire solar system. Explaining why this is the case, Rodrigue said that it is because of a conflict between scientists and engineers. In an interview with Interesting Engineering (IE), Rodrigue said that engineers often prefer exploration sites that are safe for landing but the same sites seem less interesting to the scientists. 

"Engineers tend to be extremely concerned about the safety of a mission, and so they will often insist on landing in very smooth, low-slope locations. Mars is a very risky place to go. Nearly 50 percent of missions have failed, so engineers are pretty goosey", Rodrigue told IE. 

Another reason for the proximity of the rovers is that, unlike engineers, scientists are mostly willing to explore the far-fetched areas of the red planet, however, the bumpy terrain of the red planet makes it difficult. Rodrigue even says that it is really hard to find suitable landing spots on Mars, as there are only two or three places that fulfill the requirements for a perfect landing area.

The ideal spot 

Rodrigue says that the southern highlands of Mars is "pristine" as it has well-preserved evidence of the regular and violent meteor activity that battered Mars for billions of years. Although there are been just one successful landing in the southern highlands, Rodrigue suggests that it is not impossible to land a rover in this area. The only spacecraft to land in the said spot was the Mars 3 Lander in 1971, which was launched by USSR.

Image: NASA