Works · No. 10

Operators finish a lunar survey with two rovers after the third one fails

Film · 2026 · 2:30

One of three small rovers surveying the Moon stops working. Operators decide in 22 minutes how the other two can finish a smaller survey that is still useful.

Three small rovers are surveying an area of the Moon, each with a different job. The rover carrying the ground-penetrating radar stops working halfway through, before it has taken its measurement. The operators have two rovers left, a shrinking power supply, and a half-finished map.

Because the team practiced this failure beforehand, they decide in 22 minutes how the two remaining rovers can complete a smaller survey that still answers the science question. Autonomous spacecraft working between Earth and the Moon will need the same kind of practice before they are trusted with missions.

Year
2026
Medium
Film
Length
2:30
Series
JPL science support, twelve scenarios
Setting
A lunar plain surveyed by three small rovers
Editions
Desktop film
Production
AI-generated stills and video, recorded narration, captions

Stills

9 images · select to enlarge
Three rovers near the crater Engineers with the rover models Three small rovers crossing a lunar plain A rover wheel and its instrument Lone rover at the crater edge Operators watching the survey on a large display The two rovers that are still working Scientists at the terrain model The rovers on the Moon with Earth rising behind them