Jan 04 2009
Marking Five Years On Mars
NASA is celebrating the fact that rovers have existed on the surface of Mars for five years. The first rover, Spirit, landed back on January 2, 2004. Another rover have followed since then, and all three have somehow survived the conditions on the harsh planet. The robots were only expected to exist on the planet for three months. Those expectations have been surpassed.
Spirit and Opportunity have given us many answers about the planet Mars including the fact that there was water on the planet about a billion years ago. More secrets could be unlocked in time, but there is no telling just how long the two robot rovers were continue to last on the planet.
Both are showing signs of their age, and if they fail we will have no further images from the Mars surface until a new vehicle could be sent up. The program is being hit by budget problems.
