10 Years On Mars: What Spirit & Opportunity Discovered 2
NASA's twin rovers have spent a decade on the red planet, using their scientific instruments and engineering cameras to explore rocks and soil.
![](https://eu-images.contentstack.com/v3/assets/blt69509c9116440be8/blta9124d6a2f8065c0/64cb5736d6b2f0b0dbcae39a/Twin-rovers.jpg?width=700&auto=webp&quality=80&disable=upscale)
A decade ago, a desert-like planet received two visitors that would later make important scientific discoveries and inspire a new generation of exploration rovers. This month marks the 10-year anniversary of Spirit and Opportunity, which landed on Mars in January 2004.
Spirit arrived at the Red Planet on January 3, 2004, carrying six science instruments, along with engineering cameras. Opportunity, Spirit's twin, landed on Mars on January 24, 2004, with the same payload of instruments.
It was originally planned to be a very short mission, and it's still going strong today. "We shouldn't be here. The rovers weren't supposed to last more than three months," Mars Exploration Rover (MER) driver Ashley Stroupe said during the mission's anniversary event at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) on January 16.
While Opportunity continues to explore Mars, Spirit's mission ended in March 2010 after it ceased to communicate with Earth. Opportunity has beamed back 187,000 raw images of the planet so far, and Spirit produced 128,000 raw images during its time on Mars. Each rover is equipped with a Pancam, a high-resolution color stereo pair of CCD cameras used to photograph the surface and sky of Mars, and a Microscopic Imager, which combines a microscope and a CCD camera to capture data on the small-scale features of Martian rocks and soils. The rovers also have advanced communication capabilities to communicate with orbiting probes and directly with Earth.
Years of Mars exploration has paved the way for a new and improved generation of rovers. "Since the landings of Spirit and Opportunity, we have maintained an active continuous presence on Mars. Now we begin the second decade of that exploration," John Callas, project manager of the MER project, said during the January 16 event.
Compared to its predecessors, Curiosity -- which successfully landed on Mars on August 6, 2012 -- has 10 science instruments, in addition to engineering cameras and sample-collection tools. Curiosity is twice as long and five times as heavy as Spirit and Opportunity. Many of the design elements were inherited from the twin rovers, but Curiosity is the only one with the ability to gather samples of rocks and soil, process them, and distribute them to test chambers onboard.
NASA plans to continue its quest for signs of past life on the red planet with the next Mars rover due to launch in 2020. That rover is expected to look a lot like Curiosity, but it will carry new science instruments that can acquire data quickly and that minimize power consumption. NASA is also looking to equip the rover with technology that has low operational complexity and doesn't require intervention from an operator.
As Opportunity nears its 10-year mark on Mars, take a look at the highlights from its mission, along with some discoveries made by Spirit.
Each of the rovers was equipped with tools that allows it to explore the Red Planet. The panoramic camera (Pancam) is used to capture high-resolution color images with a stereoscopic camera pair that can rotate. The miniature thermal emission spectrometer (Mini-TES) analyzes infrared light to identify rock-forming minerals. It also measures atmospheric temperatures. The rock abrasion tool (RAT) is used to brush and grind rocks. The alpha particle X-ray spectrometer (APXS) is used to measure the amount of chemical elements in rocks and soils. The Mossbauer spectrometer (MB) measures iron-bearing mineralogy of rocks and soils. The microscopic imager (MI) takes high-resolution images of the planet's small-scale features.
(Source: NASA)
Opportunity discovered a watermelon-sized rock, which NASA called "Block Island," the largest meteorite found yet on Mars. Scientists were able to learn that the rock is rich in iron and nickel. It's similar to some meteorites found on Earth. Opportunity used its panoramic camera to take images of the meteorite, providing scientists with an approximately true-color composite of what it actually encountered on the Red Planet.
(Source: NASA)
In 2007, Spirit made its own discovery. The rover found evidence of an ancient hydrothermal system, indicating that Mars was once more Earthlike and could have potentially supported life. Spirit captured this photo of the silica soil patch with its panoramic camera when one of its six wheels stopped rotating, and it dug a trench in the planet's surface.
(Source: NASA)
The captured images of tracks made by the Mars rovers have helped scientists learn more about Martian rocks and soil in several instances. Opportunity took this false-color view of its tracks at different wavelengths of light. The rover used special filters on its camera to make differences in terrain more visible.
(Source: NASA)
While driving on Mars, Opportunity came upon what looks like blueberries scattered on the ground. The rover had discovered clay minerals along an area called Endeavour's rim. The minerals got their bluish color from iron-rich spherules, and they likely formed when water was present.
(Source: NASA)
In 2005, Spirit captured a panorama of the sun setting behind Gusev crater on Mars. The image was obtained using the Pancam's 750-nanometer, 530-nanometer, and 430-nanometer color filters. Scientists use sunset and twilight images to determine how high into the atmosphere the Martian dust extends and to pinpoint dust or ice clouds.
(Source: NASA)
Since Mars is almost twice as far from the sun as Earth, less sunlight reaches its surface. The rovers survive Martian winters by conserving power in "park mode," when little sunlight is available. Each rover also houses a "warm electronics box" to protect batteries and other cold-sensitive equipment.
(Source: NASA)
This is another panorama taken by Opportunity of a massive impact crater known as Endurance. Opportunity spent six months studying rock layers in Endurance. The rover used its rock abrasion tool to study them. Analysis found evidence of rock salt deposits similar to those seen in desert regions on Earth.
(Source: NASA)
Spirit used its rock abrasion tool to cut a 0.35-inch hole in a rock called Clovis. It is the deepest drilled hole in a rock on Mars so far. Scientists used Spirit's Mossbauer spectrometer and alpha particle X-ray spectrometer to determine the chemical composition of the rock. Clovis revealed the mineral goethite, which points to the planet's watery past.
(Source: NASA)
Thanks to Spirit, scientists discovered that the rocks at one particular outcrop called Comanche contained abundant carbonate minerals -- 10 times higher than previously known in any Martian rock. The carbonates are a clue that a thicker carbon dioxide atmosphere may have covered Mars at one point.
(Source: NASA)
Thanks to Spirit, scientists discovered that the rocks at one particular outcrop called Comanche contained abundant carbonate minerals -- 10 times higher than previously known in any Martian rock. The carbonates are a clue that a thicker carbon dioxide atmosphere may have covered Mars at one point.
(Source: NASA)
-
About the Author(s)
You May Also Like