Chapter 3
Commemoration Goes to Mars
In September 2001, employees at Honeybee Robotics in lower Manhattan were building a pair of tools designed to grind away the weathered surfaces of Martian rocks, allowing NASA’s Mars Exploration Rovers Spirit and Opportunity to study their interiors.
Despite the tragedy, work on the rock abrasion tools had to stay on schedule so the instruments could be thoroughly tested before launch dates fixed by planetary alignment. The engineers had little time to assist at shelters or help in other ways, but they found a meaningful way to honor the thousands who were lost on Sept. 11.
Each rock abrasion tool carried an aluminum cuff that served as a cable shield, made from aluminum recovered from the World Trade Center towers. The metal, engraved with an American flag, served a renewed purpose as part of solar system exploration. Now that both rovers have fallen silent in the cold, dry Martian environment, these onboard memorials to the victims of Sept. 11 may remain preserved for millions of years.
