As NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity neared the ninth anniversary of its landing on Mars, the rover was working in the 'Matijevic Hill' area seen in this view from Opportunity's panoramic camera (Pancam). Images for this mosaic obtained Nov. 19 to Dec. 3, 2012.
As NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity neared the ninth anniversary of its landing on Mars, the rover was working in the 'Matijevic Hill' area seen in this view from Opportunity's panoramic camera (Pancam). Images for this mosaic obtained Nov. 19 to Dec. 3, 2012.
As NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity neared the ninth anniversary of its landing on Mars, the rover was working in the 'Matijevic Hill' area seen in this stereo view from Opportunity's panoramic camera (Pancam). Images for this mosaic obtained Nov. 19 to Dec. 3, 2012.
NASA/JPL-Caltech/Cornell Univ./ USGS/Modesto Junior College
Rock fins up to about 1 foot (30 centimeters) tall dominate this scene from the panoramic camera (Pancam) on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity. The component images were taken during the 3,058th Martian day, or sol, of Opportunity's work on Mars on Aug. 23, 2012.
NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity captured this view of its afternoon shadow stretching into Endeavour Crater during the 3,051st Martian day, or sol, of Opportunity's work on Mars on Aug. 23, 2012.
The team operating NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity plans to investigate rocks in this area photographed by the rover's navigation camera during the 3,057th Martian day, or sol, of Opportunity's work on Mars on Aug. 23, 2012.
This 360-degree scene assembled from images taken by the navigation camera on NASA's Mars Exporation Rover Opportunity shows terrain surrounding the position where the rover spent its 3,000th Martian day, or sol, working on Mars on July 2, 2012.
This 360-degree stereo panorama assembled from images taken by the navigation camera on NASA's Mars Exporation Rover Opportunity shows terrain surrounding the position where the rover spent its 3,000th Martian day, or sol, working on Mars on July 2, 2012.
Rock fins up to about 1 foot (30 centimeters) tall dominate this scene from the panoramic camera (Pancam) on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity. This image was taken Aug. 23, 2012.
This 360-degree scene assembled from images taken by the navigation camera on NASA's Mars Exporation Rover Opportunity shows terrain surrounding the position where the rover spent its 3,000th Martian day, or sol, working on Mars on July 2, 2012.
Rock fins up to about 1 foot (30 centimeters) tall dominate this stereo scene from the panoramic camera (Pancam) on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity. The component images were taken during the 3,058th Martian day, or sol, of Opportunity's work on Mars on Aug. 23, 2012.
This 360-degree panorama assembled from images taken by the navigation camera on NASA's Mars Exporation Rover Opportunity shows terrain surrounding the position where the rover spent its 3,000th Martian day, or sol, working on Mars on July 2, 2012.
817 component images taken between Dec. 21, 2011, and May 8, 2012, taken by Mars Rover Opportunity combine in this image. Image released July 5, 2012.
817 component images taken between Dec. 21, 2011, and May 8, 2012, taken by Mars Rover Opportunity combine in this image. Image released July 5, 2012.
NASA's Mars rover Opportunity catches its own late-afternoon shadow in this dramatically lit view eastward across Endeavour Crater on Mars. The rover used the panoramic camera (Pancam) between about 4:30 and 5:00 p.m. local Mars time (mostly on March 9, 2012) to record images taken through different filters and combined into this mosaic view. [More Mars Photos by Opportunity Rover]
NASA's Opportunity rover will spend the Martian winter of 2012 at a spot called Greeley Haven, shown here in a false-color view to emphasize differences in composition. The rocks of Greeley Haven stand out in blue-gray tints; in the background at right lies a tan patch of sand.
The smaller Odyssey crater, perched on the rim of the giant crater, Endeavour, was one of the sites examined by Opportunity. NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity arrived at the rim of Endeavour crater on Aug. 9, 2011.
NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity used its panoramic camera to capture this raw vista looking across Endeavour crater during the rover's 2,686th Martian day, or sol, of work on Mars (Aug. 14, 2011). This photo was taken three days after Opportunity arrived at the crater following a 3-year trek.
An examination of the small rocky outcropping known as Homestake revealed mineral deposited created by the flow of water. The cracks within this rock could potentially host life. The exposures for this image were taken during the 2,769th Martian day, or sol, of Opportunity's career on Mars (Nov. 7, 2011).
This view from the front hazard-avoidance camera on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity shows the rover's arm's shadow falling near a bright mineral vein informally named "Homestake."
Spirit and Opportunity, the Mars rovers, have outlived and outlasted any spacecraft on the surface of the red planet. Take a look at some of their latest Mars photos.
A portion of the west rim of Endeavour crater sweeps southward in this color view from NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity. This crater — with a diameter of about 14 miles (22 kilometers) — is more than 25 times wider than any that Opportunity has previously approached during the rover's 8 years on Mars.
A portion of the west rim of Endeavour crater sweeps southward in this color view from NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity. This crater -- with a diameter of about 14 miles (22 kilometers) -- is more than 25 times wider than any that Opportunity has previously approached during the rover's 90 months on Mars.
The robotic arm of NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity casts a shadow on a rock outcrop called "Chester Lake" in this image taken by the rover's front hazard-avoidance camera. The image was taken during the 2,710th Martian day, or sol, of Opportunity's work on Mars (Sept. 8, 2011).
NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity used its front hazard-avoidance camera to take this picture showing the rover's arm extended toward a light-toned rock, "Tisdale 2," during the 2,695th Martian day, or sol, of the rover's work on Mars (Aug. 23, 2011).
The flat-topped rock just below the center of this raw image from the rover Opportunity's panoramic camera was chosen by the rover team in August 2011 as a stop for inspecting with tools on Opportunity's robotic arm. This image was taken during the 2,688th Martian day, or sol, of Opportunity's work on Mars (Aug. 16, 2011), which was seven days after the rover arrived at the western rim of Endeavour Crater. The rock, informally named "Tisdale 2," displays a different texture than rocks that Opportunity has seen during the rovers' first 90 months on Mars.
NASA's Mars rover Opportunity looked down at the dirt on the western rim of Endeavour crater to capture this view image from its panoramic camera during the rover's 2,686th Martian day, or sol, of work on Mars (Aug. 14, 2011). The view shows terrain unlike any other seen on Mars by the rover, NASA says.
The large rock "Ridout" dominates this photo taken by NASA's Mars rover Opportunity on Aug. 13, 2011 near the rim of the giant Endeavour crater on the Red Planet. Ridout rock is on the edge of a smaller crater, Odyssey, on the rim of Endeavour.
NASA's Mars rover Opportunity used its front hazard-avoidance camera to take this picture showing the rover's arm extended toward a light-toned rock, "Tisdale 2," during the 2,695th Martian day, or sol, of the rover's work on Mars (Aug. 23, 2011). Tisdale 2 is about 12 inches (30 cm) tall.
NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity arrived at the rim of Endeavour crater on Aug. 9, 2011, after a trek of more than 13 miles (21 kilometers) lasting nearly three years since departing the rover's previous major destination, Victoria crater, in August 2008.
NASA's Mars rover Opportunity looked down at the dirt on the western rim of Endeavour crater to capture this view image from its panoramic camera during the rover's 2,686th Martian day, or sol, of work on Mars (Aug. 14, 2011). The view shows terrain unlike any other seen on Mars by the rover, NASA says.
After arriving at the huge Endeavour crater on Mars on Aug. 9, 2011, NASA's Opportunity rover used its panoramic camera (Pancam) to record the images combined into this mosaic view. The view scene shows the "Spirit Point" area of the rim, including a small crater, "Odyssey" on the rim, and the interior of Endeavour beyond.
NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity used its panoramic camera (Pancam) to capture this view of a portion of Endeavour crater's rim after a drive during the rover's 2,676th Martian day, or sol, of working on Mars (Aug. 4, 2011). The drive covered 396 feet (120.7 meters) and put the rover with about that much distance to go before reaching the chosen arrival site at the rim, called "Spirit Point."
NASA's Mars rover Opportunity took this photo on July 17, 2011. On that day, the rover completed a drive that took its total driving distance on Mars past 20 miles.
The yellow line on this map shows where NASA's Mars rover Opportunity has driven, as of June 2011, after landing on Mars in January 2004.
NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity recorded this view of a crater informally named "Freedom 7." The image combines two frames that Opportunity took with its navigation camera on May 2, 2011.
NASA's Mars rover Opportunity rests at the southeast rim of Santa Maria crater. NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter snapped this photo on March 1, 2011.
A close-up of the Opportunity rover perched at the southeast rim of Mars' Santa Maria crater.
Wheel slippage during attempts to extricate NASA's Mars Rover Spirit from a patch of soft ground during the preceding two weeks had partially buried the wheels by the 1,899th Martian day, or sol, of the Spirit's mission on Mars (May 6, 2009). Spirit took
NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit recorded this fisheye view with its rear hazard-avoidance camera after completing a drive during the 2,169th Martian day, or sol, of Spirit's mission on Mars (Feb. 8, 2010).
NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit recorded this forward view of its arm and surroundings during the rover's 2,052nd Martian day, or sol (Oct. 11, 2009).
This full-circle view from the panoramic camera (Pancam) on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit shows the terrain surrounding the location called "Troy," where Spirit became embedded in soft soil during the spring of 2009.
This panorama of images from the Spirit rover, taken on Sol 1925 (June 2, 2009), is helping engineers assess the rover's current state and plan her extraction from the soft soil in the region now called "Troy." The images were taken by Spirit's microscopi
Data from Spirit's power subsystem indicated that some dust blew off the rover's solar array on the following day, Sol 1812 (Feb. 6, 2009).
Spirit looks back at its tracks on Sol 1861 of its mission on Mars. Its immobile right-front wheel, which forces the rover to drive backwards, churned up bright soil. The edge of Home Plate forms the horizon on the right side of this image. Husband Hill i
This view from the navigation camera near the top of the mast on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit shows the tracks left by the rover as it drove southward and backward, dragging its inoperable right-front wheel, to the location where the rover broke t
This view is from the spot where Spirit has spent its third Martian southern-hemisphere winter in 2008, on the northern edge of a low plateau informally called "Home Plate." A dotted line marks the edge of Home Plate, which is about 80 meters or 260 feet
NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity used its panoramic camera (Pancam) to capture this view of the rim of Endeavour crater, the rover's destination in a multi-year traverse along the sandy Martian landscape. The image was taken during the 2,226 Mart
On the left, an image of the rock "Chocolate Hills" investigated by Opportunity. On the right, a false-color image that shows the strange coating found on the rock in blue. The rock is about the size of a loaf of bread.
This false-color image from the microscopic imager on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity shows details of the coating on a rock called "Chocolate Hills," which the rover found and examined at the edge of a young crater called "Concepción." The coat
NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity took this image in preparation for the first autonomous selection of an observation target by a spacecraft on Mars. The more-than-50 rocks in this image, one of which has been selected by the rover for further stu
NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity has found a rock that apparently is another meteorite. Dubbed "Shelter Island," the meteorite is about 18.5 inches (47 centimeters) long.
This view of a rock called "Block Island," the largest meteorite yet found on Mars, comes from the panoramic camera (Pancam) on NASA's rover Opportunity. This is a false-color, red-green-blue composite view generated from images taken through the Pancam's
The triangular pattern of small ridges seen at the upper right in this image and elsewhere on the Mars meteorite "Block Island" is characteristic of iron-nickel meteorites found on Earth, especially after they have been cut, polished and etched.
After a three-year drive, the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity reached the Endeavour crater, a 14 mile crater formed by bombardment early in the life of the solar system. The map traces the route through the 2,670th Martian day, or sol, of Opportunity's work on Mars (July 29, 2011).
