On Friday, February 25, 2005 Drexel’s College of Engineering held its annual Engineer of the Year banquet at the Union League. Dr. Mark Adler, Mars Exploration Program Architect and Rover Mission Manager at NASA, was named the Engineer of the Year.

Adler presented to a crowd of 275 people at the Union League Friday evening with all ears on his presentation. Adler spoke of landing on Mars, discovering water on Mars and what the future will entail for Mars exploration. The audience who was made up of Alumni, Trustees, Circle of Distinction Inductees, Faculty, Staff and Students of Drexel were amazed with the information that Adler provided about Mars. One guest noted that “You couldn’t get this information from a better source.” Alder is the sole manager for the past Mars landings and is in constant communication with the two current Rovers on Mars as well as the two Orbiters circling Mars.

The Engineer of the Year award is presented to an engineer who is being recognized for his cumulative outstanding accomplishments in the engineering field that have impacted the nation for the better. The Engineer of the Year Award is the most prestigious engineering award Drexel University will present. Adler is well deserving of this honor with his past, current and future work with Mars exploration.

Mars exploration is important for our society because it can tell us so much about our existence on Earth. Mars exploration started in the late 60s, early 70s and came to a quick stop due to the lack of water findings on Mars. Mars exploration was put on hold for many years because explorers believed water did not exist. But in the 90s when Adler joined NASA-JPL Mars exploration picked up again after a scientist discovered a small sign of water markings on the planet.

Adler and his team began preparation for travel. From Earth, we can launch Mars Orbits or Rovers only once every 23 months due to how the planets are alined. What Adler and his team found was that there were definite signs of water on Mars and with further travel they uncovered water just below the top layer of Mars. Once water was discovered, Adler and his team were very excited because water can led to life on Mars!

Looking into the future, Adler showed the crowd the new Rover that will hopefully be sent to Mars within the next couple of years. The Rover is the size of a standard automobile. The Rover will be able to take high resolution pictures, drive over all types of terrain and also test small samples of rock within its on board laboratory. Additionally, Adler spoke of a Sample Return Mission that will hopefully take place by 2014, where Rovers will collect samples of Mars rock, about the size of a small coffee cup, and launch from Mars to Earth. Than looking even further into the future Adler was hopeful about sending humans to Mars one day.