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

Gimme Shelter

NASA/JPL-Caltech

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.

Big Block

NASA/JPL-Caltech/Cornell University

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

Bizarre Block Triangle

NASA/JPL-Caltech/Cornell/USGS

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.

Opportunity's Route to Endeavour Crater

NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS/NMMNHS

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).

Opportunity's Southward View of 'McClure-Beverlin Escarpment' on Mars

NASA/JPL-Caltech/Cornell Univ./Arizona State Univ.

The boulder-studded ridge in this scene recorded by NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity is "McClure-Beverlin Escarpment." This view toward the south is a mosaic of images taken by Opportunity's panoramic camera (Pancam) on Dec. 25, 2013.

Where Martian 'Jelly Doughnut' Rock Came From

NASA/JPL-Caltech/Cornell Univ./Arizona State Univ.

This image from the panoramic camera on NASA’s Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity shows where a rock called "Pinnacle Island" had been before it appeared in front of the rover in early January 2014. This image was taken on Feb. 4, 2014.

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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.