<P> Sojourner is the Mars Pathfinder robotic Mars rover that landed on July 4, 1997 in the Ares Vallis region, and explored Mars for around three months . It has front and rear cameras and hardware to conduct several scientific experiments . Designed for a mission lasting 7 sols, with possible extension to 30 sols, it was in fact active for 83 sols . The base station had its last communication session with Earth at 3: 23 a.m. Pacific Daylight Time on September 27, 1997 . The rover needed the base station to communicate with Earth, despite still functioning at the time communications ended . </P> <P> Sojourner traveled a distance of just over 100 meters (330 ft) by the time communication was lost . It was instructed to stay stationary until October 5, 1997 (sol 91) and then drive around the lander . </P> <P> The word Sojourner first appeared in print in the first Bible printed by Gutenberg in 1454 - 1455 . It specifically deals with the travels of Abraham . It is found in the first chapter of Genesis . It means "traveler", and was selected in an essay contest won by Vallery Ambroise, a 12 - year - old from U.S. state of Connecticut . It is named for abolitionist and women's rights activist Sojourner Truth . The second - place prize went to Deepti Rohatgi, 18, of Rockville, MD, who proposed Marie Curie, a Nobel Prize - winning Polish chemist . Third place went to Adam Sheedy, 16, of Round Rock, TX, who chose Judith Resnik, a United States' astronaut and shuttle crew - member . The rover was also known as Microrover Flight Experiment abbreviated MFEX . </P> <P> Sojourner has solar panels and a non-rechargeable battery, which allowed limited nocturnal operations . Once the batteries were depleted, it could only operate during the day . The batteries are lithium - thionyl chloride (LiSOCl2) and could provide 150 watt - hours . The batteries also allowed the health of the rover to be checked while enclosed in the cruise stage while en route to Mars . </P>

Who is the mars rover sojourner named after