"Although the MER team has been very resourceful in finding solutions, it has clearly created a lot of stress on the budget," the NASA Mars chief told SPACE.com. Figueroa was attending Mars Week, held here October 4-6 at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
Figueroa said that both NASA Headquarters and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California -- the organization responsible for the MER project -- constantly focus their attention on technical, cost, schedule, as well as human health and safety issues.
"We started to notice signs of stress once again in cost," Figueroa said.
Specifically, new expenses were largely driven by more tests of the MER airbags and parachute system. "Any component of the entry, descent and landing system we're going to test to death. We can't cut corners on that," Figueroa said.
Go ride the logic train
One electronics problem has popped up. Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGA) used in each MER were thought to be under-achievers.
These industry-supplied FPGA devices are programmable and a class of general-purpose chip that can be configured for a wide variety of applications. In the case of the MER effort they allow software designers to custom design logic trains within each rover.
During FPGA tests, problems started showing up. Replacing the units meant risk to the project's tight timelines. A backup batch of the chips has been purchased as a precautionary step. Further testing has better characterized this concern, leading MER project officials to perhaps replace only a few of the FPGA elements versus a massive overhaul.
"It appears that we are in the right direction. We don't need to replace them…right now," Figueroa said. "All these things were raising flags that cost, once again, was an issue," he said.
Break the bank
The MER program is an $800 million effort. It's what NASA calls the "soup to nuts" or beginning-to-end costs. This total life cycle expense includes launch and operating the rovers on Mars.
In recent assessments, however, the program was clearly going to break the bank, Figueroa said, predicted to be something on the order of $13 million to $15 million beyond budgeted resources.
The word from NASA Headquarters was that the MER program has no more available funds. Both NASA and JPL officials took a major look within the MER project to find needed funds and to build up an internal pot of reserve cash.
"The MER team went through line item by line item. We revisited the plan for delivery of components making sure that things weren't being cut too short on anything," Figueroa said.
Over the last month, indicators are "pretty darn good" for the MER program, Figueroa said, with airbag and parachute system tests, as well as electronic component checkout, yielding good results. "The integration and testing program is going great. At least over the last week, things are looking really good. We have reason to be cautiously optimistic," he said.
Launch windows
The Mars Exploration Rovers are to be individually boosted on Delta rockets from Cape Canaveral, Florida: Rover A on May 30, 2003 (landing on January 4, 2004); Rover B on June 27, 2003 (touchdown on January 25, 2004).
If that first launch window is missed, there is an opportunity to hurl a MER rover toward Mars in that second launch window using a more powerful Delta booster.
Missing the launch windows to Mars entirely in 2003 could lead to MER sendoff the following year. But 2005 is horrible in terms of launch windows, Figueroa said.
"I think we have to do everything within our power to keep the two rover program as we envisioned it. We are nowhere near what I would say is 'let's go out and cheer', but we have reason to be optimistic," Figueroa said.
Ship and shoot
The MER program was predicated, for the most part, on being a copycat craft based on the Mars Pathfinder success in July 1997. That turned out not to be the case.
Changes in the airbag and parachute system, and other aspects to support the much heavier MER robots, created troublesome issues. A domino effect of problems surfaced that, in turn, led to stresses on the project's budget.
Now being selected, Figueroa said, is a small group of individuals that will penetrate the MER program to assure the rovers are ready for flight. This group would begin their assessment in the November-December time frame.
Another group of experts will be assembled to do an end-to-end review of the entire entry, descent and landing system sequence for the twin rovers. They will start this appraisal in January.
These assessments would clear the way for shipping the rovers to Florida for their respective launches.
Ripple effects from failure
For MER workers at JPL, it's beyond nail-biting time in building up each of the rovers, mounting instruments, and carrying out final checks. The pressure is on full force.
"We're watching human health and safety…whether adrenaline gets ahead of physical capability. They've managed that well. I think that the whole laboratory has rallied behind them. The whole place is humming as hardware comes together and moves into place," Figueroa told SPACE.com.
Despite best efforts, however, landing safely on Mars remains a challenge.
If the twin rovers wind up scattered across Martian terrain, the ripple effects from such failures would clearly impact NASA's Mars exploration plans.
"It's an incredibly complex mission. This is life. It's a tough business. I think, obviously, there is great expectation for the success of at least one of these rovers - at least one. So a double failure, I think, would be very tough for us to recover from," Figueroa said.
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