Ten Years After: Enduring Lessons Learned from Mars Pathfinder

On July 4, 1997, the eyes of the world were focused on the high-risk entry, descent, and landing (EDL) of Mars Pathfinder (MPF). The mission employed a system of aeroshell, parachute, altimeter, retrorockets, and airbags in an audacious attempt to emplace a small science station on Mars and deploy a microrover for short-scale exploration. The project was implemented under NASA\´s new "faster-better-cheaper" (FBC) paradigm, which included a short development cycle and a hard cost cap. MPF and Sojourner, "the little rover that could," proved to be highly successful and received much press at the time. The Mars Pathfinder team had produced a set of lessons learned presentations following launch. This material captured what were believed to be the key lessons, both positive and negative, from 5 years of difficult and dynamic work, and was intended to offer guidance to future NASA projects. Over time, however, what had been considered to be "lessons" in 1997 would be questioned by future FBC and non-FBC projects. Looking back from a vantage point 10 years after MPF launch in December 1996, it is possible to more objectively separate out the enduring lessons from ones that did not remain valid, represented one-time-only occurrences, or carried unintended adverse consequences. Today\´s assessment encompasses what worked, what did not work, and what could have been done better, from a 2006 perspective. This paper gives a brief overview of the Mars Pathfinder project, its requirements, and its management approach; identifies the principal lessons learned as understood at the time; provides examples of lessons that did not stand the test of time; and describes what are considered to be the lasting messages of a successful and exciting endeavor.