Photos: Mars rovers still churning

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  • shadow on Mars

    shadow on Mars

    NASA's robotic space explorers, the Mars rovers Spirit and Opportunity, have done the unexpected by surviving for a full Martian year (687 Earth days) on the red planet. When Spirit first landed on Jan. 3, 2004, scientists hoped that the rovers would last 90 sols, or Martian days.

    Spirit's shadow and robotic arm are captured in this image. In early December 2005, researchers reported that Opportunity's robotic arm may be permanently damaged.

    Caption by: Bill Detwiler

  • grains of sand

    grains of sand

    Both rovers together have taken more than 130,000 pictures of Mars. This image of an area 1.2 inches across was taken by Spirit's microscopic imager. The scale can show features as small as 4 one-thousandths of an inch.

    Caption by: Bill Detwiler

  • Scylla

    Scylla

    Opportunity, which is about the size of a golf cart, recently captured this false-color panoramic view of a wind-blown ripple called "Scylla."

    Caption by: Bill Detwiler

  • Kalavrita

    Kalavrita

    These before and after images depict an encounter by Opportunity's rock abrasion tool with a rock target dubbed "Kalavrita." The circle is about 1.8 inches across.

    Caption by: Bill Detwiler

  • traverse course

    traverse course

    Early in the mission, scientists plotted a traverse course that would take Spirit up "Husband Hill." The route was chosen so that the rover's solar panels would face the Sun and the antenna would point toward Earth.

    Caption by: Bill Detwiler

  • reaching the summit

    reaching the summit

    After a long climb, Spirit reached the summit of "Husband Hill" and captured never-before-seen views of the Gusev Crater.

    Caption by: Bill Detwiler

  • first woman driver

    first woman driver

    Researcher Ashley Stroupe uses an oversize sand box to practice guiding the rovers on the Martian terrain. The earthbound "driver" must develop step-by-step instructions, then run the commands and hope for the best.

    Caption by: Bill Detwiler

  • Hillary

    Hillary

    This rock outcropping was named after the first man to climb Mt. Everest, Edmund Hillary.

    Caption by: Bill Detwiler

  • signs of water

    signs of water

    Opportunity recently took this photo of an outcrop called "Olympia" along the Erebus crater. The rocks were shaped mainly by windblown sediments, but some are also thought to have formed in damp conditions.

    Caption by: Bill Detwiler

  • dust devil

    dust devil

    This video still shows a dust devil growing in size and blowing across the plain inside Mars' Gusev Crater.

    Caption by: Bill Detwiler

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Spirit and Opportunity mark a first anniversary on the red planet--well past their original 90-day life expectancy.

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shadow on Mars

NASA's robotic space explorers, the Mars rovers Spirit and Opportunity, have done the unexpected by surviving for a full Martian year (687 Earth days) on the red planet. When Spirit first landed on Jan. 3, 2004, scientists hoped that the rovers would last 90 sols, or Martian days.

Spirit's shadow and robotic arm are captured in this image. In early December 2005, researchers reported that Opportunity's robotic arm may be permanently damaged.

Caption by: Bill Detwiler

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