NASA Mars Exploration Rovers
By Abbey Snell
NASA
- National
- Aeronautics
- Space
- Administration
Launch
There were two different rovers in this mission, who we named Spirit and Opportunity. They also both had different launch dates, Spirit was launched on the 10th of June 2003, and Opportunity was launched on the 7th of July 2003.
Purpose
The purpose of the Mars exploration rovers was to, search for history of water, which could mean previous life forms.
Landing
The two rovers landed on Mars on separate dates, Spirit landed on the 4th of January 2004, and Opportunity on the 25th of January 2004.
Discoveries/ Contributions to our knowledge and understanding
During the nearly 7 years of Spirits life, she discovered in a patch of sand, traces of a much wetter area produced by a hot springs. Opportunity has discovered that Mars had water on it for a very long period of time, and could have been home to forms of microbial life. Opportunity also analysed a layer of rocks recording climate changes on Mars, as well as discovering it's lading spot was a salt water shoreline.
Technologies used
Both rovers, Spirit and Opportunity were equipped with a set of scientific tools to help them dig and take samples. The rovers were mainly powered by solar panels but could also be powered by radioisotope heaters.