Opportunity: Landing

In this season 4 finale, Gentry Lee and Rob Manning reveal how surprises, hidden flaws, and uncertainties have always been a part of rovers and the exploration of Mars.

During a team meeting for NASA’s Opportunity rover, Ben Cark of the Space Science Institute talks about his experiences working on NASA’s longest-lived Mars surface explorer. 

Dr. Steve Squyres, principal investigator for the science instruments on both Mars Exploration Rovers, celebrates as the team witnesses the first images sent back from Spirit.

This artist's rendering depicts NASA's Mars Exploration Rovers, Spirit and Opportunity. The twin rovers were launched in 2003 and arrived on Mars in January 2004.

A section of the Mars Science Laboratory's Gale Crater landing site is shown, with a representative path from the landing location toward the layered mound to the south.

A portion of an exposure of bedrock dubbed "Larry's Outcrop" shows little layering in this view, in contrast to nearby outcrops called "Methuselah" and "Jibsheet."

Download a PDF of the Mars as Art Booklet.

NASA discussed the status of its Mars Exploration Rover (MER) Opportunity in a media briefing at 11 a.m. PST (2 p.m. EST) Wednesday, Feb. 13, from the agency’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pa...

This is the 3-D anaglyph showing a microscopic image taken of soil featuring round, blueberry-shaped rock formations on the crater floor at Meridiani Planum, Mars. This image was taken on the 13th ...

Using footage filmed at JPL when Spirit touched down on Jan. 3, 2004, as well an animation depicting the rover's arrival at the Red Planet, this video celebrates the 20th anniversary of Mars Explor...

NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity recorded this view just after reaching the summit of "Cape Tribulation," on the western rim of Endeavour Crater, on Jan. 6, 2015, the 3,894th Martian day, ...

This self-portrait of NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity comes courtesy of the Sun and the rover's front hazard-avoidance camera.

Opportunity captured this vista of "Victoria Crater" from the viewpoint of "Cape Verde," one of the promontories that are part of the scalloped rim of the crater.

Researchers used NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity to find a water-related mineral on the ground that had been detected from orbit, and found it in the dark veneer of rocks on the rim of En...

Born together, the Spirit and Opportunity twin rovers followed divergent paths after they landed on opposite sides of Mars. Opportunity’s journey was marked by good fortune, while Spirit’s was trou...

Spirit acquired this false-color image after using the rock abrasion tool to brush the surfaces of rock targets informally named "Stars" (left) and "Crawfords" (right). Small streaks of dust extend...

Researchers used the panoramic camera (Pancam) on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity to capture this view of comet C/2013 A1 Siding Spring as it passed near Mars on Oct. 19, 2014.

This synthetic image of NASA's Opportunity Mars Exploration Rover inside Endurance Crater was produced using "Virtual Presence in Space" technology.

This close-up image taken by Spirit highlights the nodular nuggets that cover the rock dubbed "Pot of Gold."

This stereo view from NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity shows contrasting textures and tones of "Hinners Point," at the northern edge of "Marathon Valley," and brighter outcrop on the valle...

NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity captured this southward uphill view after beginning to ascend the northwestern slope of "Solander Point" on the western rim of Endeavour Crater.

This image from the panoramic camera on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity shows a rock called "Chocolate Hills," which the rover found and examined at the edge of a young crater called "Con...

NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity drove about 12 feet (3.67 meters) on May 8, 2012, after spending 19 weeks working in one place while solar power was too low for driving during the Martian...

Dr. Wayne Lee, chief engineer for development of the Mars Exploration Rover's descent and landing systems proudly waves a broom, indicating a clean martian sweep.

NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity has extended its robotic arm for studying a light-toned rock target called "Athens" in this March 25, 2015, image from the rover's front hazard avoidance c...