Mars Rovers Near Five Years of Science and Discovery

Spirit and Opportunity’s three month Mars exploration mission, now in its fifth year, is a phenomenal success by any measure. NASA rovers Spirit and Opportunity may still have big achievements ahead as they approach the fifth anniversaries of their memorable landings on Mars. Of the hundreds of engineers and scientists who cheered at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., on Jan. 3, 2004, when Spirit landed safely, and 21 days later when Opportunity followed suit, none predicted the team would still be operating both rovers in 2009. “The American taxpayer was told three months for each rover was the prime mission plan,” said Ed Weiler, associate administrator for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “The twins have worked almost 20 times that… View this post