MARTIAN ROVER JOURNEY

FEBRUARY 6, 2023

Spirit and Opportunity landed on Mars January 3 and January 24, 2004 PST (Jan. 4 and Jan. 25 UTC). Both rovers lived well beyond their planned 90-day missions. Opportunity worked nearly 15 years on Mars and broke the driving record for putting the most miles on the odometer.

With data from the rovers, mission scientists have reconstructed an ancient past when Mars was awash in water. Spirit and Opportunity each found evidence for past wet conditions that possibly could have supported microbial life.

First among the mission's scientific goals was to search for and characterize a wide range of rocks and soils for clues to past water activity on Mars. The rovers were targeted to sites on opposite sides of Mars that looked like they were affected by liquid water in the past. Opportunity landed at Meridiani Planum, a possible former lake in a giant impact crater. Spirit landed at Gusev Crater, a place where mineral deposits suggested that Mars had a wet history.