Mars Rovers: Exploring the Red Planet’s Surface

  1. Mars rovers are robotic explorers designed to study the planet’s surface and geology.
  2. NASA’s Sojourner became the first rover to land on Mars in 1997.
  3. The twin rovers Spirit and Opportunity launched in 2003 and far outlived their 90-day missions.
  4. Curiosity, landing in 2012, is still exploring Gale Crater with a full science lab onboard.
  5. Perseverance, which landed in 2021, is collecting rock samples for future return to Earth.
  6. Perseverance also carried Ingenuity, the first helicopter to fly on another planet.
  7. Rovers have confirmed that Mars once had liquid water and conditions that could have supported life.
  8. They study Martian dust, rocks, and climate to prepare for future human missions.
  9. Each rover is packed with cameras, drills, and spectrometers to analyze the surface.
  10. Mars rovers are paving the way for the first astronauts to set foot on the Red Planet.