Opportunity: Landing

NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity recorded this view of a crater informally named "Freedom 7" shortly before the 50th anniversary of the first American in space: astronaut Alan Shepard's fl...

John Callas has been a leader of NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Project since the project's inception in 2000, and has been the project manager since 2006.

Athena Science team members and other Mars Exploration Rover team members pose for a photo at JPL.

This two-image blink shows a comparison of two exposure times in images from the panoramic camera (Pancam) on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity showing comet C/2013 A1 Siding Spring as it f...

This stunning image mosaic of the "Columbia Hills" is the first 360-degree panorama taken by Spirit after arriving at the hills.

During the three-year trek of NASA's Mars Rover Opportunity from Victoria crater to Endeavour crater, rover planners captured a horizon photograph at the end of each drive. 309 images taken during ...

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 hist...

A grooved ridge called "Rocheport" on the rim of Mars' Endeavour Crater spans this scene from the Pancam on NASA's Mars rover Opportunity. This version of the scene is presented in enhanced color t...

This view of a rock called "Block Island," the largest meteorite yet found on Mars, comes from the panoramic camera (Pancam) on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity.

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

Two generations of Rovers.

Researchers used NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity to find a water-related mineral on the ground that had been detected from orbit, and found it in the dark veneer of rocks on the rim of En...

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. 

This stereo anaglyph looking toward the northeast across "Endurance Crater" in Mars' Meridiani Planum region was assembled from frames taken by the navigation camera on NASA's Mars Exploration Rove...

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

Download a PDF of the Mars Exploration Rover Fact Sheet.

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...

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...

6th Year Anniversary Graphic

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

On Earth, a fast runner takes a few hours to complete a marathon. On Mars, it's taken 11 years. NASA's Opportunity rover crossed that finish line in 2015.

This artist's concept animation depicts key events in NASA's Mars Exploration Rover mission, including launch; cruise; entry, descent & landing; egress; and, surface operations.

This grouping of two test rovers and a flight spare provides a graphic comparison of three generations of Mars rovers developed at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. The setting is ...

Environmental testing