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Missions and Programs

Mars Exploration Rover

Robotic Mars Exploration Missions

The Mars Exploration Rover mission was a NASA robotic space mission involving two Mars rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, managed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Spirit launched June 10, 2003 and Opportunity launched July 7, 2003, both landing on Mars at separate locations in January 2004 to explore the planet's surface and geology.

Facts
Mission Type
Robotic Mars rover mission 1
Launch Date
2003-06-10 2
Spirit (MER-A) launched June 10, 2003; Opportunity (MER-B) launched July 7, 2003. The earlier of the two launch dates is recorded here.
End Date
2019-02-13 2
Outcome
Both rovers far outlived their planned 90 day missions: Spirit was active until March 22, 2010 and Opportunity until June 10, 2018, with NASA declaring the mission over in February 2019 after a dust storm ended contact with Opportunity. 2
Mission Type
Mission Type (category)
Rover Mission 1
Mission Type (category)
Robotic / Uncrewed Mission 1
Connections

Operated By

Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Space Agencies and Companies
Source Mars Exploration Rover (Wikipedia)

Spacecraft Of

Opportunity, Spacecraft
Source Wikipedia: Opportunity (rover)
Spirit, Spacecraft
Source Wikipedia: Spirit (rover)
Sources
1. Mars Exploration Rover (Wikipedia)
  • Lead paragraph, first sentence
    a robotic space mission involving two Mars rovers
  • Mars Exploration Rover article, lead section
    a robotic space mission involving two Mars rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, exploring the planet Mars
  • Mars Exploration Rover article, infobox
  • Includes: Opportunity, Mars Exploration Rover article, lead section (Opportunity)
    NASA's Mars Exploration Rover (MER) mission was a robotic space mission involving two Mars rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, exploring the planet Mars.
  • In Group: NASA Mars Missions, Lead sentence
    NASA's Mars Exploration Rover (MER) mission was a robotic space mission involving two Mars rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, exploring the planet Mars.
  • Operated By: Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Lead and article text, operator
    The mission was managed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), which designed, built, and operated the rovers.
View the Source
2. Wikipedia (space and spaceflight articles)
Wikimedia Foundation
  • Mars Exploration Rover article, outcome section
    NASA declared the Opportunity mission over...which also drew the 16-year long Mars Exploration Rover mission to a close
  • Mars Exploration Rover article, Mission timeline, Mission extensions
    A press conference was held on February 13, 2019, announcing that after numerous attempts to contact Opportunity, with no response since June 2018, NASA declared the Opportunity mission over, which also drew the 16-year long Mars Exploration Rover mission to a close.
View the Source
Wikipedia: Spirit (rover)
Spacecraft Of: Spirit, Lead paragraph, mission-of
Quote, Spacecraft Of: Spirit, Lead paragraph, mission-of
Spirit, also known as MER-A (Mars Exploration Rover, A) or MER-2, is a Mars robotic rover, active from 2004 to 2010.
View the Source
Wikipedia: Opportunity (rover)
Spacecraft Of: Opportunity, Lead paragraph, mission-of
Quote, Spacecraft Of: Opportunity, Lead paragraph, mission-of
Opportunity, also known as MER-B (Mars Exploration Rover, B) or MER-1, and nicknamed Oppy, is a robotic rover that was active on Mars from 2004 until 2018.
View the Source
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