Description
This scene from JPL's Spacecraft Assembly Facility in April 2002 shows early work on the spacecraft then known as Mars Exploration Rover 1 and later named Opportunity. The electronics were spread out on table tops, with the cable mock-up for the cruise stage in the foreground. Other than the X-band radio, none of the hardware delivered by this point flew. The first flight-vehicle test of entry, descent and landing sequences was still 6 months away.
