NASA is making the final preparations for their Mars 2020 mission, and the latest test has taken the team, along with a rover, to Iceland’s lava fields. The landscape at the Lambahraun lava field, which stands at Iceland’s second biggest glacier, Langjokull, is consists of black basalt sand, wind-swept dunes, craggy peaks, and just about everything you’d expect to see on another planet. Read more for a video and additional information.
Fifteen NASA scientists and engineers will spend three weeks at the site, which is located approximately 62-miles from the capital, Reykjavik. The rover prototype runs on two motors powered by a dozen car batteries, and is designed to be completely weather resistant. While it’s no speed demon, this rover is much quicker than others that have descended on Mars, with a top speed of 0.5 mph – Curiosity tops out at 0.08 mph.