Postcards from Mars: The Amazing Photos of Opportunity and Spirit Rovers

West Rim of Endeavour Crater on Mars

NASA/JPL-Caltech/Cornell/ASU

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.

West Rim of Endeavour Crater on Mars (False Color)

NASA/JPL-Caltech/Cornell/ASU

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.

Opportunity Photos Chester Lake Rock

NASA/JPL-Caltech

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).

Opportunity Rover Studies Martian Rock Tisdale 2

NASA/JPL-Caltech

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).

Tisdale 2 Mars Rock

NASA/JPL-Caltech/Cornell/ASU

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.

Mars Rover Opportunity on New Ground

NASA/JPL-Caltech/Cornell/ASU

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 Last Martian Ridout

NASA/JPL-CalTech

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.

Opportunity Rover Reaches Out to Tisdale 2

NASA/JPL-Caltech

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.

Small 'Odyssey' Crater on Rim of Huge 'Endeavour' Crater

NASA/JPL-Caltech

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.

Mars Rover Opportunity on New Ground

NASA/JPL-Caltech/Cornell/ASU

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.

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Tariq Malik
Editor-in-Chief

Tariq is the Editor-in-Chief of Space.com and joined the team in 2001, first as an intern and staff writer, and later as an editor. He covers human spaceflight, exploration and space science, as well as skywatching and entertainment. He became Space.com's Managing Editor in 2009 and Editor-in-Chief in 2019. Before joining Space.com, Tariq was a staff reporter for The Los Angeles Times covering education and city beats in La Habra, Fullerton and Huntington Beach. In October 2022, Tariq received the Harry Kolcum Award for excellence in space reporting from the National Space Club Florida Committee. He is also an Eagle Scout (yes, he has the Space Exploration merit badge) and went to Space Camp four times as a kid and a fifth time as an adult. He has journalism degrees from the University of Southern California and New York University. You can find Tariq at Space.com and as the co-host to the This Week In Space podcast with space historian Rod Pyle on the TWiT network. To see his latest project, you can follow Tariq on Twitter @tariqjmalik.