"its journey across Mars, having traveled , since its landing in 2012; on August 1, 2013, the rover traveled over one mile: . On August 6, 2013, NASA celebrated ""Curiosity"" first year on Mars (August 6, 2012 to August 5, 2013) by programming the rover to perform the ""Happy Birthday"" song to itself. NASA also released several videos (video-1, video-2) summarizing the rover's accomplishments over the year. Primarily, the mission found evidence of ""ancient environments suitable for life"" on Mars. The rover drove over one-mile across the Martian terrain, transmitted more than 190 gigabits of data to Earth, including 70,000"
"Mars Pathfinder Mars Pathfinder (MESUR Pathfinder) is an American robotic spacecraft that landed a base station with a roving probe on Mars in 1997. It consisted of a lander, renamed the Carl Sagan Memorial Station, and a lightweight (10.6 kg/23 lb) wheeled robotic Mars rover named ""Sojourner"", which became the first rover to operate outside the Earth–Moon system. Launched on December 4, 1996 by NASA aboard a Delta II booster a month after the ""Mars Global Surveyor"" was launched, it landed on July 4, 1997 on Mars's Ares Vallis, in a region called Chryse Planitia in the Oxia Palus quadrangle."
"Spirit (rover) Spirit, also known as MER-A (Mars Exploration Rover – A) or MER-2, is a robotic rover on Mars, active from 2004 to 2010. It was one of two rovers of NASA's ongoing Mars Exploration Rover Mission. It landed successfully on Mars at 04:35 Ground UTC on January 4, 2004, three weeks before its twin, ""Opportunity"" (MER-B), which landed on the other side of the planet. Its name was chosen through a NASA-sponsored student essay competition. The rover became stuck in late 2009, and its last communication with Earth was sent on March 22, 2010. The rover completed its"
"has transferred 128,224 pictures in its lifetime. Spirit (rover) Spirit, also known as MER-A (Mars Exploration Rover – A) or MER-2, is a robotic rover on Mars, active from 2004 to 2010. It was one of two rovers of NASA's ongoing Mars Exploration Rover Mission. It landed successfully on Mars at 04:35 Ground UTC on January 4, 2004, three weeks before its twin, ""Opportunity"" (MER-B), which landed on the other side of the planet. Its name was chosen through a NASA-sponsored student essay competition. The rover became stuck in late 2009, and its last communication with Earth was sent on"
"Mars Science Laboratory Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) is a robotic space probe mission to Mars launched by NASA on November 26, 2011, which successfully landed ""Curiosity"", a Mars rover, in Gale Crater on August 6, 2012. The overall objectives include investigating Mars' habitability, studying its climate and geology, and collecting data for a manned mission to Mars. The rover carries a variety of scientific instruments designed by an international team. MSL successfully carried out the most accurate Martian landing of any known spacecraft, hitting a small target landing ellipse of only , in the Aeolis Palus region of Gale Crater."
"Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) (and Curiosity rover), launched in November 2011, landed on Aeolis Palus, between Peace Vallis and Aeolis Mons (""Mount Sharp""), in Gale Crater on Mars on August 6, 2012, 05:17 UTC. The landing site was in ""Quad 51"" (""Yellowknife"") of ""Aeolis Palus"" near the base of ""Aeolis Mons"". The landing site was less than from the center of the rover's planned target site after a journey. NASA named the landing site ""Bradbury Landing"", in honor of author Ray Bradbury, on August 22, 2012. The ""Schiaparelli"" lander was intended to test technology for future soft landings on the"
"Jacob Matijevic Jacob (Richard) Matijevic, also known as ""Jake"" Matijevic, (3 November 1947 – 20 August 2012) was an American NASA engineer of Croatian origin who worked on Mars Exploration Rovers. Dr. Matijevic was involved in developing the """"Sojourner"""", """"Spirit"""", """"Opportunity"""" and """"Curiosity"""" rovers. For his contributions to the rover projects, NASA named several landmarks on the planet Mars (including """"Matijevic Hill"""" and """"Jake Matijevic"""" rock) after him. Dr. Matijevic was born and grew up in Chicago, Illinois and graduated from Mount Carmel High School. In 1969, he received a bachelor's degree in mathematics from the Illinois Institute of Technology,"
"with a roving probe on Mars on July 4, 1997. It consisted of a lander and a small wheeled robotic rover named Sojourner, which was the first rover to operate on the surface of Mars. In addition to scientific objectives, the Mars Pathfinder mission was also a ""proof-of-concept"" for various technologies, such as an airbag landing system and automated obstacle avoidance, both later exploited by the Mars Exploration Rovers. After the 1992 failure of NASA's Mars Observer orbiter, NASA retooled and launched Mars Global Surveyor (MGS). Mars Global Surveyor launched on November 7, 1996, and entered orbit on September 12,"
"compared to Earth's. The mission launched on 5 May 2018 and landed on the surface of Mars at Elysium Planitia on 26 November 2018. The Principal Investigator for RISE is William Folkner of JPL, who led the 1997 investigation of Mars' core using the radio link between Earth and NASA's ""Mars Pathfinder"" (also included the ""Sojourner"" rover). RISE uses the spacecraft's radio connection with Earth to assess perturbations of Mars' rotation axis to within 10 centimeters. These measurements can provide information about the size and composition of Mars' core. The radio science equipment is largely the same as used for"
"Opportunity mission timeline Opportunity, MER-B (Mars Exploration Rover – B), is a robotic rover active on the planet Mars since 2004. Launched on July 7, 2003, ""Opportunity"" landed on Mars' Meridiani Planum on January 25, 2004 at 05:05 Ground UTC (about 13:15 Mars local time), three weeks after its twin ""Spirit"" (MER-A), also part of NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Mission, touched down on the other side of the planet. While ""Spirit"" became immobile in 2009 and ceased communications in 2010, ""Opportunity"" remains active as of December 11, 2017, having already exceeded its planned 90 sol (Martian days) duration of activity"
"tip. Beagle 2 failed while attempting to land on Mars in 2003. ""Spirit"" is a robotic rover on Mars, active from 2004 to 2010. It was one of two rovers of NASA's ongoing Mars Exploration Rover Mission. It landed successfully on Mars at 04:35 Ground UTC on January 4, 2004, three weeks before its twin, ""Opportunity"" (MER-B), landed on the other side of the planet. Its name was chosen through a NASA-sponsored student essay competition. The rover became stuck in late 2009, and its last communication with Earth was sent on March 22, 2010. Chang'e 3 is a Chinese Moon"
"The Marsokhod was a "" heavy"" Soviet rover (hybrid, with both controls telecommand and automatic) aimed at Mars, part of the Mars 4NM and scheduled to be released (after 1973 according to the plans of 1970) launched by a N1 rocket that never arrived to fly successfully. The Mars Pathfinder mission included ""Sojourner"", the first rover to successfully deploy on another planet. NASA, the space agency of the United States, launched Mars Pathfinder on 4 December 1996; it landed on Mars in a region called Chryse Planitia on 4 July 1997. From its landing until the final data transmission on"
"and mission sols, which are Mars days counted from its landing and typical of Mars surface mission time reporting. Topographic lines and various feature names are also common Opportunity (rover) Opportunity, also known as MER-B (Mars Exploration Rover – B) or MER-1, is a robotic rover active on Mars since 2004. Launched on July 7, 2003 as part of NASA's Mars Exploration Rover program, it landed in Meridiani Planum on January 25, 2004, three weeks after its twin ""Spirit"" (MER-A) touched down on the other side of the planet. With a planned 90 sol duration of activity (slightly more than"
"2012, just two weeks before his death. After his death, NASA decided to name a Mars hill, """"Matijevic Hill"""", encountered by the """"Opportunity"""" rover, and also a Mars rock, """"Jake Matijevic"""", encountered by the """"Curiosity"""" rover, in his honor for his many contributions to the Mars rover projects over the years. Jacob Matijevic Jacob (Richard) Matijevic, also known as ""Jake"" Matijevic, (3 November 1947 – 20 August 2012) was an American NASA engineer of Croatian origin who worked on Mars Exploration Rovers. Dr. Matijevic was involved in developing the """"Sojourner"""", """"Spirit"""", """"Opportunity"""" and """"Curiosity"""" rovers. For his contributions to the"
"two ramps. The ""Mars Pathfinder"" entry descent and landing system design was used (with some modification) on the Mars Exploration Rover mission. Likewise, many design aspects of the ""Sojourner"" rover (e.g. the rocker-bogie mobility architecture and the navigation algorithms) were also successfully used on the Mars Exploration Rover mission. The ""Sojourner"" rover exit from the lander occurred on Sol 2, after its landing on July 4, 1997. As the next sols progressed it approached some rocks, which the scientists named ""Barnacle Bill"", ""Yogi"", and ""Scooby-Doo"", after famous cartoon characters. The rover made measurements of the elements found in those rocks"
"Opportunity (rover) Opportunity, also known as MER-B (Mars Exploration Rover – B) or MER-1, is a robotic rover active on Mars since 2004. Launched on July 7, 2003 as part of NASA's Mars Exploration Rover program, it landed in Meridiani Planum on January 25, 2004, three weeks after its twin ""Spirit"" (MER-A) touched down on the other side of the planet. With a planned 90 sol duration of activity (slightly more than 90 earth days), ""Spirit"" functioned until getting stuck in 2009 and ceased communications in 2010, while ""Opportunity"" was active as of June 10, 2018 when a dust storm"
"it landed on the Martian Meridiani Planum on January 25, 2004 at 05:05 Ground UTC (about 13:15 local time), three weeks after its twin ""Spirit"" (MER-A) touched down on the other side of the planet. On July 28, 2014, NASA announced that ""Opportunity"", after having traveled over on the planet Mars, has set a new ""off-world"" record as the rover having driven the greatest distance, surpassing the previous record held by the Soviet Union's Lunokhod 2 rover that had traveled . () On 26 November 2011, NASA's Mars Science Laboratory mission was successfully launched for Mars. The mission successfully landed"
"Curiosity (rover) Curiosity is a car-sized rover designed to explore Gale Crater on Mars as part of NASA's Mars Science Laboratory mission (MSL). ""Curiosity"" was launched from Cape Canaveral on November 26, 2011, at 15:02 UTC aboard the MSL spacecraft and landed on Aeolis Palus in Gale Crater on Mars on August 6, 2012, 05:17 UTC. The Bradbury Landing site was less than from the center of the rover's touchdown target after a journey. The rover's goals include an investigation of the Martian climate and geology; assessment of whether the selected field site inside Gale Crater has ever offered environmental"
"on the order of landing on Mars (""Spirit"" first then ""Opportunity""). The rovers were named through a student essay competition sponsored by NASA, the Planetary Society and Lego. The winning entry was by Sofi Collis, a third-grade Russian-American student from Arizona, who named both rovers. The mission is known as the Mars Science Laboratory. The rover vehicle was named through an essay contest. Finalist names were ranked by the public between March 23–29, 2009 from among Adventure, Amelia, Journey, Perception, Pursuit, Sunrise, Vision, Wonder, and Curiosity. through a public poll on the NASA website. On May 27, 2009, the winning"
"scale. On 26 November 2018, NASA reported that the ""InSight"" lander had landed successfully on Mars. A touchdown image was received, taken through a transparent lens cover, which was removed a few days later. A few hours after landing, NASA's ""2001 Mars Odyssey"" orbiter relayed signals indicating that ""InSight"" solar panels had successfully unfurled and are generating enough electrical power to recharge its batteries daily. ""Odyssey"" also relayed a pair of images showing ""InSight"" landing site. More images will be taken in stereo pairs to create 3D images, allowing ""InSight"" to find the best locations on the surface to place"
"in direct contact with Earth. A low gain antenna is also used to relay data to spacecraft orbiting Mars. The science instruments include: The rover arm holds the following instruments: The ""Spirit"" Mars rover and lander arrived successfully on the surface of Mars on 04:35 Ground UTC on January 4, 2004. This was the start of its 90-sol mission, but solar cell cleaning events would mean it was the start of a much longer mission, lasting until 2010. ""Spirit"" was targeted to a site that appears to have been affected by liquid water in the past, the crater Gusev, a"
"Robert J. Collier Trophy by the National Aeronautic Association ""In recognition of the extraordinary achievements of successfully landing ""Curiosity"" on Mars, advancing the nation's technological and engineering capabilities, and significantly improving humanity's understanding of ancient Martian habitable environments."" Curiosity (rover) Curiosity is a car-sized rover designed to explore Gale Crater on Mars as part of NASA's Mars Science Laboratory mission (MSL). ""Curiosity"" was launched from Cape Canaveral on November 26, 2011, at 15:02 UTC aboard the MSL spacecraft and landed on Aeolis Palus in Gale Crater on Mars on August 6, 2012, 05:17 UTC. The Bradbury Landing site was less"
"Mars Exploration Rover NASA's Mars Exploration Rover (MER) mission is an ongoing robotic space mission involving two Mars rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, exploring the planet Mars. It began in 2003 with the launch of the two rovers: MER-A ""Spirit"" and MER-B ""Opportunity""—to explore the Martian surface and geology; both landed on Mars at separate locations in January 2004. Both rovers far outlived their planned missions of 90 Martian solar days: MER-A ""Spirit"" was active until 2010, while MER-B ""Opportunity"" is still active in 2018, and holds the record for the longest distance driven by any off-Earth wheeled vehicle. The mission's"
"in real time by the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope in India (and confirmed by Mars Express), were lost about one minute from the surface during the final landing stages. On 21 October 2016, NASA released an image by the ""Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter"" showing what appears to be the lander's crash site. The telemetry data accumulated by the TGO and ESA's ""Mars Express"" orbiters are being used to investigate the failure modes of the landing technology employed. The ""Schiaparelli"" Entry, Descent, and Landing Demonstrator module is named for Giovanni Schiaparelli (1835–1910), an astronomer active in the 19th century who made Mars"
"the Martian surface in January 2004 using landers featuring airbags and parachutes to soften impact. ""Spirit"" ceased functioning in 2010, more than five years past its design lifetime. As of January 2017, ""Opportunity"" remains active, having exceeded its three-month design lifetime by well over a decade. The U.S. Phoenix spacecraft successfully achieved soft landing on the surface of Mars on May 25, 2008, using a combination of parachutes and rocket descent engines. Mars Science Laboratory (""Curiosity"") was successfully launched by NASA on November 26, 2011. It landed in the Aeolis Palus region of Gale Crater on Mars on August 6,"
"Bradbury Landing Bradbury Landing is a landing location on the planet Mars inside Gale crater. It marks the landing site of Mars Science Laboratory ""Curiosity"" rover on August 6, 2012. The location was named by NASA for Ray Bradbury on August 22, 2012, his 92nd birthday, in honor of the author who died a few months earlier, on June 5. The coordinates of the landing site are: . Gale Crater is the MSL landing site. Within Gale Crater is a mountain, named Aeolis Mons (""Mount Sharp""), of layered rocks, rising about above the crater floor, that ""Curiosity"" will investigate. The"
"contact was lost when a global dust storm blotted out the Sun, thus depriving the rover of enough power for operations and communicate with Earth. In September 2018, after the storm subsided, NASA began making various efforts to contact and listen to the rover if it endured the storm. ""Opportunity"" landed in Meridiani Planum at , about downrange (east) of its intended target on January 25, 2004 at 05:05. Although Meridiani is a flat plain, without the rock fields seen at previous Mars landing sites, ""Opportunity"" rolled into an impact crater 22 meters in diameter, with the rim of the"
"be evidence for possible biological or geological activity. The TGO features four instruments and will also act as a communications relay satellite. The ""Schiaparelli"" experimental lander separated from TGO on 16 October and was maneuvered to land in Meridiani Planum, but it crashed on the surface of Mars. The landing was designed to test new key technologies to safely deliver the 2020 rover mission. In 2020, a Roscosmos-built lander (ExoMars 2020 surface platform) is to deliver the ESA-built ExoMars Rover to the Martian surface. The rover will also include some Roscosmos built instruments. The second mission operations and communications will"
"rover that it had successfully landed in ""Yellowknife"" ""Quad 51"" of ""Aeolis Palus"". The rover's mission is to explore the surface area of Gale Crater focusing first near its landing site on ""Aeolis Palus"" and then venturing into the nearby foothills of Aeolis Mons (unofficially, ""Mount Sharp"") to investigate its geological features and strata. On September 26, 2013, NASA scientists reported the Mars ""Curiosity"" rover detected ""abundant, easily accessible"" water (1.5 to 3 weight percent) in soil samples at the Rocknest region of ""Aeolis Palus"" in Gale Crater. In addition, NASA reported the rover found two principal soil types: a"
"the rover on the surface of Mars on August 5, 2012. He led the project's mechanical engineering technical development during the mission. Umland also lead his team to invent the rover's ""Sky-crane"". Prior to MSL, Umland was the Jet Propulsion Laboratory's structural dynamics lead for the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM), which flew on STS-99. Currently, Umland is the Chief Mechanical Engineer for NASA's InSight mission, which is expected to launch in March 2016 and land on Mars in September 2016. Jeffrey Umland Jeffrey Umland is the Chief Mechanical Engineer of NASA's InSight mission. He previously served as the Chief"
"unstow its robotic arm and take more images of its landing site. The images revealed that the spacecraft landed where it had access to digging down a polygon across the trough and digging into its center. The lander's robotic arm touched soil on Mars for the first time on May 31, 2008 (sol ). It scooped dirt and started sampling the Martian soil for ice after days of testing its systems. The polygonal cracking at the landing zone had previously been observed from orbit, and is similar to patterns seen in permafrost areas in polar and high altitude regions of"
"on Mars. N165 N165 (""Coronation"" rock) is a rock on the surface of Aeolis Palus in Gale Crater on the planet Mars near the landing site (""Bradbury Landing"") of the ""Curiosity"" rover. The ""approximate"" site coordinates are: . On August 19, 2012, the rock was the first target of the rover's laser instrument, ChemCam, which can analyze targets at a distance using a laser and spectrometer. A Twitter feed for the rock was created, featuring an anthropomorphized account of its experiences. Its posts include a humor themed mix of social interaction and Mars content such as """"Did you know I"
"Yellowknife Bay, Mars Yellowknife Bay is a geologic formation in Gale Crater on the planet Mars. NASA's Mars Science Laboratory Rover, named ""Curiosity"", arrived at the low lying depression on December 17, 2012, 125 sols, or martian days, into its 668 sol planned mission on the planet. Primary mission goals of the Mars Science Laboratory were to assess the potential habitability of the planet and whether or not the Martian environment is, or has ever been, capable of supporting life. The site was chosen after much study of the region by previous missions. The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter observed morphological features"