Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Artist's illustration of a six-wheeled rover on the surface of Mars, with a rock-studded reddish landscape in the background.

NASA's Spirit and Opportunity rovers, designed for 90 days, operated for years, fundamentally transforming Mars exploration and scientific understanding. They provided definitive proof of past water ...

This month marks the 20th anniversary of Spirit and Opportunity's landing on Mars, part of a mission whose legacy will extend far into the future. In January 2004, twin NASA rovers named Spirit and ...

When Spirit dropped through the thin Martian air and bounced to a stop inside Gusev Crater, it did more than survive a high‑risk landing. It opened a new era in which rovers became the primary way ...

On Independence Day 1997, millions were glued to their computer and TV screens as exhilarated scientists in the Mission Control Center watched their first rover touch down on Mars. The little rover ...

Before Curiosity and Perseverance, two now-defunct NASA rovers paved the way for the machines that explore the red planet today: Spirit and Opportunity. While Curiosity and Perseverance are each ...

He directed a team of engineers that built Spirit, Opportunity and Curiosity, mobile robots that offered astonishing glimpses into the planet’s ancient past. By Sam Roberts Growing up in California, ...

Researchers using NASA’s twin Mars rovers are sorting out two possible origins for one of Spirit’s most important discoveries, while also getting Spirit to a favorable spot for surviving the next ...

PASADENA, Calif.–When it comes to longevity, the Spirit and Opportunity rovers on Mars are giving some real competition to the pink bunny from those battery advertisements. The two rovers in a couple ...

Mars exploration rover mission -- Mission impossible -- The making of the Mars rovers -- Are we really on Mars? -- Hitting the dusty trail -- Can Opportunity climb down? -- Can Spirit climb up? -- The ...