Artist's Concept of Rover on Mars

This mosaic image shows an extreme close-up of round, blueberry-shaped formations in the martian soil near a part of the rock outcrop at Meridiani Planum called Stone Mountain

From left: Dave Lavery, program executive for Solar System Exploration at NASA Headquarters, Dr. Ed Weiler, associate administrator, Office of Space Science, NASA Headquarters, Pete Theisinger, (fo...

The second Mars Exploration Rover, Opportunity, was the first NASA mission lifted on what is referred to as a Delta II "heavy" rocket.

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 be...

NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity recorded the component images for this self-portrait about three weeks before completing a decade of work on Mars.

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 overl...

This animation features the Mars Exploration Rover's entry into the martian atmosphere and final soft landing using airbags. (Audio: mechanical sounds only)

This false-color image highlights mysterious and sparkly dust-like material that is created when the soil in this region is disturbed.

Spirit discovered this remarkable patch of bright, loose soil while driving toward "Home Plate" along the floor of the basin south of "Husband Hill" in Gusev Crater.

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.

This stereo vista from NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity shows "Wdowiak Ridge," from left foreground to center, as part of a northward look with the rover's tracks visible at right. The ima...

This false-color view from NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity shows "Lunokhod 2 Crater," which lies south of Solander Point on the west rim of Endeavour Crater.

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 ima...

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 ro...

The aeroshell protects the rover from fiery temperatures as it enters the Martian atmosphere in January, 2004.

Team members reflect on Spirit's six-years of roving Mars.

While driving eastward toward the northwestern flank of "McCool Hill," Spirit's wheels churned up the largest amount of bright soil discovered to that point in the mission. This image from Spirit's...

Entry, descent and landing manager, Rob Manning (facing camera), hugs Richard Cook, the current Mars Exploration Rover project manager after Opportunity's successful landing at Meridiani Planum, Mars.

The cruise stage provides power, communication and propulsion for the rover and lander within its cocoon made up of the heatshield and backshell for the cruise to Mars.

This view from Opportunity shows the tracks left by a drive executed with more onboard autonomy than has been used on any other drive by a Mars rover.

This March 21, 2016, image from the navigation camera on NASA's Mars rover Opportunity shows streaks of dust or sand on the vehicle's rear solar panel after a series of drives during which the rove...

This synthetic image recreates what Opportunity might look like in Endurance Crater. Produced using "Virtual Presence in Space" technology at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, it combines visualiza...

NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity used its navigation camera to take the images combined into this stereo view of the rover's surroundings on the 958th sol, or Martian day, of its surface m...

As Opportunity crept farther into "Endurance Crater," the dune field on the crater floor appeared even more dramatic.

NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity used its navigation camera to capture the component images for this stereo, 360-degree panorama near the ridgeline of Endeavour Crater's western rim. The v...