There have been numerous missions into space since the beginning of the 20th century. With the constant evolution of technology, it has become much easier to further our understanding of the universe through the exploration of celestial structures. Particularly astronomers have increasingly become curious with the possibility of life on Mars albeit past or present life. The Mars Exploration Rover mission has been one of the biggest success stories with twin rovers, Spirt and Opportunity landing of the Martian planet successfully.
The Mars Exploration rover mission is the first extended exploration of another using mobile robotic science, with the evidence gathered laying the ground work for future missions to the Martian planet. The main object of the mission was to gain an understanding of the possibility of life on mars by ‘ following the water’. The notion of finding water on Mars is a big deal, as it means that there could be possibility of life, where as up until now the many searches have focused on the past habitability of the planet. Both rovers were launched in 2003, with Spirit launching on the 10th of June and Opportunity on the 7th of July. Each …show more content…
The Spirit rover was in operation for roughly about 6 years and was decommissioned in March 2010 after producing 128,000 images. Opportunity on the other hand is still in operation today, with Opportunity having sent back over 187,00 raw images. The sheer durability of both rovers meant that scientist from NASA were able to collect significantly more information from the Martian planet than originally expected, which is an achievement in its own right. If it had not have been for the extended period of operation of each rover, scientist would not have likely been able to make such substantial discoveries as they
The Mars Exploration rover mission is the first extended exploration of another using mobile robotic science, with the evidence gathered laying the ground work for future missions to the Martian planet. The main object of the mission was to gain an understanding of the possibility of life on mars by ‘ following the water’. The notion of finding water on Mars is a big deal, as it means that there could be possibility of life, where as up until now the many searches have focused on the past habitability of the planet. Both rovers were launched in 2003, with Spirit launching on the 10th of June and Opportunity on the 7th of July. Each …show more content…
The Spirit rover was in operation for roughly about 6 years and was decommissioned in March 2010 after producing 128,000 images. Opportunity on the other hand is still in operation today, with Opportunity having sent back over 187,00 raw images. The sheer durability of both rovers meant that scientist from NASA were able to collect significantly more information from the Martian planet than originally expected, which is an achievement in its own right. If it had not have been for the extended period of operation of each rover, scientist would not have likely been able to make such substantial discoveries as they