Images
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From One Rover Generation to the Next
At an event celebrating the end of NASA’s Mars Exploration Rovers (MER) mission on Feb. 13, 2019, engineer Jennifer Trosper shared how working on the rovers Spirit and Opportunity taught her lessons for NASA’s next rover mission, Mars 2020.
April 30, 2019
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A Celebration of Science from Spirit and Opportunity
Steve Squyres, principal investigator for NASA’s Mars Exploration Rover mission, and Matt Golombek, the mission’s project scientist, discussed the ground-breaking science returned by the mission’s twin rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, on Feb. 13, 2019.
April 29, 2019
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Dusty's Panorama
This 360-degree panorama was taken by "Dusty," a fully-working replica of NASA's Opportunity rover at the agency's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The panorama was taken as part of a software test. Members of the Opportunity team gathered to sit in during the panorama.
April 10, 2019
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Mars Exploration Rovers Team Picture
Scientists and engineers working on NASA’s Mars Exploration Rover mission gather for a team portrait during the rovers’ prime mission on Mars in 2004 at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.
April 1, 2019
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Last Call to Opportunity
John Callas, project manager for NASA’s Mars Exploration Rovers mission, makes the call ending the last formal session via NASA’s Deep Space Network (DSN) for the Opportunity rover at Mars on Feb. 12, 2019.
April 1, 2019
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One Last Listen
The close camaraderie among scientists and engineers who worked on NASA’s Opportunity rover is evident in this image from Feb. 12, 2019, at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.
April 1, 2019
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A Round of Applause for Opportunity
Scientists and engineers who worked on NASA’s Opportunity rover give mission leadership a round of applause in Mission Control at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.
April 1, 2019
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Sharing a Rover's Life
As the NASA Opportunity rover team gathered to talk about the last attempts to listen for the rover’s signals from Mars, Ashley Stroupe shared her story about working with the long-lived robotic geologist.
April 1, 2019
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A Lifetime of Rover Stories
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.
April 1, 2019
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Sharing Opportunity Stories
Cindy Oda stood up to share her experience working with NASA’s Opportunity rover during a team meeting in Mission Control at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.
April 1, 2019
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Addressing the Opportunity Team
NASA Associate Administrator for Science Thomas Zurbuchen addressed the Opportunity rover team inside Mission Control at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, a few hours before the team made its last attempts to listen for the rover’s signal from Mars. The image was taken on Feb. 12, 2019.
April 1, 2019
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Last Images Opportunity Took
These two thumbnail images, with the ghostly dot of a faint Sun near the middle of each, are the last images NASA's Opportunity rover took on Mars.
March 12, 2019
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Opportunity's Last Message
Taken on June 10, 2018 (the 5,111th Martian day, or sol, of the mission) this "noisy," incomplete image was the last data NASA's Opportunity rover sent back from Perseverance Valley on Mars.
March 12, 2019
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Opportunity Legacy Pan (Stereo)
This image is a cropped version of the last 360-degree panorama taken by the Opportunity rover's Pancam from May 13 through June 10, 2018. The panorama appears in 3D when seen through blue-red glasses with the red lens on the left.
March 12, 2019
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Opportunity Legacy Pan (True Color)
This image is an edited version of the last 360-degree panorama taken by the Opportunity rover's Pancam from May 13 through June 10, 2018. The version of the scene is presented in approximate true color.
March 12, 2019
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Opportunity Legacy Pan
This image is a cropped version of the last 360-degree panorama taken by the Opportunity rover's Panoramic Camera (Pancam) from May 13 through June 10, 2018. The view is presented in false color to make some differences between materials easier to see.
March 12, 2019
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NASA Administrator and Mars
NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine discusses the successful completion of the Opportunity Mars rover mission during a news briefing at the agency's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. Behind him to the left is a model of Opportunity and to the right behind him is an image of Mars.
February 13, 2019
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Celebrating a Mars Rover
With a model of NASA's Opportunity rover behind him, John Callas, project manager of the Spirit and Opportunity Mars rovers, speaks about the rovers' achievements at the agency's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. Deputy Project Scientist Abigail Fraeman (right) looks on.
February 13, 2019
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Applause for a Rover Overachiever
A round of applause at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, for a successful end to the mission of NASA's Opportunity Mars rover on Feb. 13, 2019.
February 13, 2019
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Last Commands to Opportunity
Late on Feb. 12, 2019, mission controllers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, sent the last commands to ask NASA's Opportunity rover on Mars to call home.
February 13, 2019
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Looking Back on a Golden Opportunity
In this navigation camera raw image, NASA's Opportunity Rover looks back over its own tracks on Aug. 4, 2010. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of Caltech in Pasadena, manages the Mars Exploration Rover Project for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington.
February 13, 2019
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Driving Distances on Mars and the Moon
This chart illustrates comparisons among the distances driven by various wheeled vehicles on the surface of Earth's moon and Mars.
February 13, 2019
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Spirit And Opportunity By The Numbers
This infographic highlights NASA’s twin robot geologists, the Mars Exploration Rovers (MER) Spirit and Opportunity. The rovers landed on the Red Planet in 2004, in search of answers about the history of water on Mars. Spirit concluded its mission in 2010. Opportunity last communicated with Earth on June 10, 2018, as a planet-wide dust storm blanketed the solar-powered rover's location on Mars.
February 4, 2019
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Goldstone Antenna
A Goldstone 111.5-foot (34-meter) beam-waveguide antenna tracks a spacecraft as it comes into view. The Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex is located in the Mojave Desert in California.
January 25, 2019
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The Evolution of a Martian
This artist's illustration shows NASA's four successful Mars rovers (from left to right): Sojourner, Spirit and Opportunity, and Curiosity. The image also shows the upcoming Mars 2020 rover and a human explorer.
November 21, 2018
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SMD Spacecraft Fleet
NASA Science missions circle Earth, the Sun, the Moon, Mars and many other destinations within our solar system, including spacecraft that look out even further into our universe. The Science Fleet depicts the scope of NASA's activity and how our missions have traveled throughout the solar system.
November 21, 2018
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Opportunity After the Dust Storm
This image acquired on September 20, 2018 by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, shows NASA's Opportunity rover as a blip.
September 25, 2018
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Opportunity After the Dust Storm
NASA's Opportunity rover appears as a blip in the center of this square. This image taken by HiRISE, a high-resolution camera onboard NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, shows the dust storm over Perseverance Valley has substantially cleared.
September 25, 2018
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On Mars, Light Is Energy
This graphic shows how the energy available to NASA’s Opportunity rover on Mars (in watt-hours) depends on how clear or opaque the atmosphere is (measured in a value called tau). When the tau value (blue) is high, the rover’s power levels (yellow) drop.
June 13, 2018
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2018 Giant Dust Storm on Mars
This set of images from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter shows a fierce dust storm is kicking up on Mars, with rovers on the surface indicated as icons.
June 13, 2018
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Mars Storm Watch Observations
This graphic shows the ongoing contributions of NASA’s rovers and orbiters during a Martian dust storm that began on May 30, 2018.
June 13, 2018
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Atmospheric Opacity from Opportunity’s Point of View
This graphic compares atmospheric opacity in different Mars years from the point of view of NASA’s Opportunity rover.
June 12, 2018
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Shades of Martian Darkness
This series of images shows simulated views of a darkening Martian sky blotting out the Sun from NASA's Opportunity rover's point of view, with the right side simulating Opportunity's current view in the global dust storm (June 2018).
June 12, 2018
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Dust Storm Covers Opportunity
This global map of Mars shows a growing dust storm as of June 6, 2018. The map was produced by the Mars Color Imager (MARCI) camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft.
June 8, 2018
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New Day for Longest-Working Mars Rover
NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity recorded the dawn of the rover's 4,999th Martian day, or sol, with its Panoramic Camera (Pancam) on Feb. 15, 2018, yielding this processed, approximately true-color scene.
February 16, 2018
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Rock Stripe Pattern on Hawaii's Mauna Kea
This image shows stone stripes on the side of a volcanic cone on Mauna Kea, Hawaii. The stripes are made of small rock fragments and they are aligned downhill as freeze-thaw cycles have lifted them up and out of the finer-grained regolith, and moved them to the sides, forming stone stripes.
February 15, 2018
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Opportunity Views Ground Texture in 'Perseverance Valley'
This late-afternoon view from the front Hazard Avoidance Camera on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity shows a pattern of rock stripes on the ground, a surprise to scientists on the rover team. It was taken in January 2018, as the rover neared Sol 5000 of what was planned as a 90-sol mission.
February 15, 2018
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Rock Stripes Pattern in Mars' 'Perseverance Valley'
Textured rows on the ground in this portion of "Perseverance Valley" are under investigation by NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity, which used its Navigation Camera to take the component images of this downhill-looking scene. The rover reaches its 5,000th Martian day, or sol, on Feb. 16, 2018.
February 15, 2018
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Martian 'Perseverance Valley' in Perspective (Vertical Exaggeration)
The channel descending a Martian slope in this perspective view is "Perseverance Valley," the study area of NASA's Mars rover Opportunity as the rover passes its 5,000th Martian day. The view overlays a HiRISE image onto a topographic model with five-fold vertical exaggeration, to show shapes.
February 15, 2018
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Mars Exploration Rover Instrument Diagrams
Mars Exploration Rover Instrument Diagrams
August 25, 2017
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View Back Uphill After Entering 'Perseverance Valley'
This July 18, 2017, image from the navigation camera (Navcam) on the mast of NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity provides a look back to the crest of Endeavour Crater's rim after the rover began descending "Perseverance Valley" on the rim's inner slope.
July 20, 2017
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View Down 'Perseverance Valley' After Entry at Top
This July 7, 2017, scene from the Navcam on NASA's Opportunity Mars rover shows a view from the upper end of "Perseverance Valley" on the inner slope of Endeavour Crater's rim. At left, the valley descends about 200 yards to the crater floor. In the middle, the crater rim extends southeastward.
July 20, 2017
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Panorama Above 'Perseverance Valley' on Mars
This June 2017 view from the Pancam on NASA's Opportunity Mars rover shows the area just above "Perseverance Valley" on a large crater's rim. A broad notch in the crest of the rim, at right, might have been a spillway for a fluid that carved the valley, out of sight on the other side of the rim.
July 20, 2017
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Panorama Above 'Perseverance Valley' (Enhanced Color)
This June 2017 view from the Pancam on NASA's Opportunity Mars rover shows the area just above "Perseverance Valley" on the western rim of Endeavour Crater. Color has been enhanced to make differences in surface materials more easily.
July 20, 2017
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Panorama Above 'Perseverance Valley' on Mars (Stereo)
This June 2017 stereo view from NASA's Opportunity Mars rover shows the area just above "Perseverance Valley" on the rim of a crater. It combines images from the left eye and right eye of the rover's Pancam to appear three-dimensional when seen through blue-red glasses with the red lens on the left.
July 20, 2017
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Mars Rover Opportunity's View of 'Orion Crater'
NASA's Opportunity Mars rover passed near this small, relatively fresh crater in April 2017, during the 45th anniversary of the Apollo 16 mission to the moon. The rover team chose to call it "Orion Crater," after the Apollo 16 lunar module. The rover's Panoramic Camera (Pancam) recorded this view.
June 16, 2017
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Mars Rover View of 'Orion Crater' (Enhanced Color)
The Pancam on NASA's Opportunity Mars rover imaged this small, relatively fresh crater in April 2017, during the 45th anniversary of the Apollo 16 mission to the moon. The rover team chose to call it "Orion Crater," after the Apollo 16 lunar module. The scene is presented here in enhanced color.
June 16, 2017
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Mars Rover View of 'Orion Crater' (Stereo)
This view of a 90-foot-wide, relatively fresh crater on Mars, "Orion Crater," combines images from the left eye and right eye of the Panoramic Camera (Pancam) on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity. It appears three-dimensional when seen through blue-red glasses with the red lens on the left.
June 16, 2017
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Putting Martian 'Tribulation' Behind (Enhanced Color)
Wheel tracks from NASA's Mars rover Opportunity descending and departing the "Cape Tribulation" segment of Endeavour Crater's rim are visible in this April 21, 2017, view from the rover's Pancam. This version is presented in enhanced color to make differences in surface materials more visible.
May 15, 2017
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Putting Martian 'Tribulation' Behind
Wheel tracks from NASA's Mars rover Opportunity descending and departing the "Cape Tribulation" segment of Endeavour Crater's rim are visible in this April 21, 2017, view from the rover's Panoramic Camera (Pancam). The rover looked back northward during its trek south to "Perseverance Valley."
May 15, 2017
