] Spirit and Opportunity also were designed to carry all
] the communications and camera equipment that was split
] between Sojourner and its Pathfinder mothership.
]
] "We have effectively merged the capability of the
] Pathfinder lander and the Sojourner rover into one larger
] rover," said Mishkin, who heads the team that develops
] the instructions that will be sent to the two robots each
] day.

I grew up in Los Angeles, and have known Andy Mishkin for years. We went to elementary school together, and were usually in the same "gifted students" math classes through Junior High and High School.

I am sooooooooooo proud of him. After our high school reunion, he also gave me a tour of JPL, so I got to see firsthand the equipment they use for sending signals to the robots, and the practice courses that they've used for teaching the Rovers how to navigate.

Go Andy! :)

Andy Mishkin - Team Leader for Driving the Mars Rovers