Free Astronomy Magazine March-April 2021

A bove, an enhanced-color panorama of Perse- verance Valley taken by Opportunity. The panorama spans about three-fourths of a full-circle view, from southeastward on the left, through west- ward in the middle, to northeastward on the right. High points visible on the rim of Endeavour Crater include “Winnemucca” on the left and “Cape Tribu- lation” on the right. Below, an image mosaic taken by the panoramic camera onboard the Mars Explo- ration Rover Spirit, shows the rover’s landing site, the Columbia Memorial Station, at Gusev Crater. [NASA/JPL-Caltech/Cornell/Arizona State Univ.] F ollowing the success of the So- journer rover, NASA wanted to send two new rovers to learn much more about Mars. The rovers, named Spirit and Opportunity, were part of the Mars Exploration Rover mission, a long-term robotic explo- ration effort of the red planet. In 2003, Spirit and Opportunity were launched towards the Red Planet on June 10 and July 7, respectively. The landings on Mars took place on Jan- Spirit & Opportunity