Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Silicon Graphics Supercomputers
Help Pave Path to Mars


But the Sojourner's historic trek was not accomplished without significant and careful practice and preparation. JPL's Sojourner team, which controlled the Mars rover vehicle, counted on Silicon Graphics supercomputers to create 3D virtual models of the Martian landscape for test-driving Sojourner before sending its daily movement commands. Likewise, the JPL multi-imaging processing laboratory relied heavily on Silicon Graphics workstations for storage and processing of Pathfinder's low-resolution data into images, as well as systems used to analyze atmospheric and geophysical data.

    

The most unpredictable event surrounding Sojourner's every move, however, was the incredible Web-mania that swept the Internet.

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