"This experience gives visitors to NASA's Web site the chance to explore Gusev Crater and Meridiani Planum, without having to make the 300-million-mile trek," said Dennis Armstrong, NASA's Kennedy Space Center Public Web Information Manager. "We're hoping users will count on this feature as a great source to find out about Mars Exploration Rover discoveries. A lot of people already have. During the first 10 days of program operation, we received more than 210,000 page views," Armstrong said.
The interactive experience is frequently updated with the latest pictures and data from the Mars Rover missions. Drivers of the digital martian duo can examine the same points of interest investigated by the real rovers. M2K4 is a multimedia experience that gives Web users the chance to explore the Mars Exploration Rover missions up close. Interactive features include animations of the mission, martian trivia, and the chance to virtually drive across the surface of Mars.
"Interactive features like this are what the NASA Web Portal is all about," said Brian Dunbar, Internet Services Manager in NASA's Office of Public Affairs. "They convey the excitement of exploration to the public and fulfill NASA's mission to inspire the next generation of explorers as only NASA can." "Drive the Mars Rovers!" is available on the Internet.
