William Atkins
Wednesday, 21 January 2009 18:58
Science -
Space
Page 1 of 3
On January 25, 2004, the Mars Exploration Rover B, popularly known as Opportunity, landed successfully on the planet Mars. It continues to provide us valuable data on the Red Planet, now five years later.
Now functioning nineteen times longer than NASA thought it would last, Opportunity and its sister Spirit continue to be two hardy robotic explorers still providing valuable information on the geology of Martian rocks and surface features.
MER-A, Spirit, was already on the opposite side of the planet when Opportunity landed at
Meridiani Planum, a plain containing impact craters and volcanic basalt just south of the Martian equator in the westernmost section of Terra Meridiani.
A Google-provided
map of the Meridiani Planum is provided that is centered on the Martian plain.
Spirit was launched from Earth on June 10, 2003, and Opportunity was launched less than one month later on July 7, 2003.
Spirit landed on the planet Mars on January 3, 2004, while Opportunity landed that same month, on January 24, 2004 (both dates are based on Pacific Standard Time, in California).
The exploration of Opportunity over the past five years has resulted in scientists now knowing that the area once contained a large amount of liquid water; in fact NASA scientists state that it was once "soaked" with water.
Steve Squyres, principal investigator for the science instruments onboard the two rovers, stated,
"Liquid water once flowed through these rocks. It changed their texture, and it changed their chemistry. We've been able to read the tell-tale clues the water left behind, giving us confidence in that conclusion." [NASA: "
Meridiani Planum 'Drenched'"]
Additional information on the Mars Exploration Rover (MER) mission, which is part of the longer robotic exploration program called the NASA Mars Exploration Program, is found on the
NASA website.
Page two contains a current status provided by NASA on the two rovers Spirit and Opportunity.
