Know Before We Go: What Mars Exploration and IndyCar Racing Have in Common

Why It Matters

The analogy underscores how investment in mapping, simulation and team processes reduces mission risk and cost—critical for safe human missions to Mars and for competitive performance in high-speed racing. It shows transferable best practices between aerospace and motorsports that can accelerate readiness for future crewed exploration.

Summary

In a conversation between IndyCar driver Alexander Rossi and NASA Mars Exploration Program manager Al Chen, the two draw parallels between race preparation and planetary exploration, emphasizing meticulous reconnaissance, simulation, and team coordination. Rossi compares track walks and simulator rehearsals to NASA’s orbital mapping, rover testing, and mission simulations used to assess terrain, slopes, dust and other hazards on Mars. Both fields rely on detailed pre-planning, small margins for error, and cumulative knowledge built from prior missions and races to ensure safety and success. The discussion highlights how data-driven rehearsal and multidisciplinary teams turn unknown environments into manageable operating spaces.

Original Description

When you're going 200 mph — or preparing to send humans millions of miles away — small details make a big difference when the margin for error is slim.

Before they ever hit the track, race car drivers study every turn, surface change, and possible risk in advance of race day.

NASA is doing something similar ahead of sending humans to Mars: studying the planet’s surface. This includes mapping terrain, spotting hazards, and learning what lies ahead.

IndyCar driver Alexander Rossi of Ed Carpenter Racing (ECR) and Al Chen, manager of NASA’s Mars Exploration Program at the agency’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, explore how racing and Red Planet exploration both rely on preparation, precision, simulation, teamwork, and knowing the course before taking on the challenge.

Discover these parallels through behind-the-scenes content from:

- NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California

- Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach

- GM Motorsports Charlotte Technical Center

For more information, visit: science.nasa.gov/mars

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Footage courtesy of GM Motorsports / INDYCAR, LLC. All rights reserved.