Two decades ago, two mars rovers Spirit and Opportunity landed on mars on 3rd and 24th January 2004, respectively to look for evidence that water once flowed on the surface of the Red Planet. Designed to last just 3 months, both the rovers travelled and operated on the mars surface for much longer than the expected duration for years (Spirit operated for over six years while Opportunity remained active for over 14 years). mars Exploration Programme of NASA has four ‘Science Goals’- to determine if mars Ever Supported Life, to understand climate and geology of mars and to prepare for human planet uppdrag till mars.
Tvillingrovers Ande och möjligheter, mars found evidence that long ago mars was wetter and conditions at mars could have supported microbial life and contributed to understanding geology and climate of mars. They changed our knowledge of mars. Their experiences and their yeoman’s contributions to mars science paved way for future rovers Curiosity and Perseverance.
Sex mars rovers have successfully landed and travelled/operated on marsian yta hittills. Nyfikenhet och Uthållighet which landed on Martian surface in 2012 and 2021 respectively are currently active and operational and making contributions to mars vetenskap.
Tabell: Mars rovers som framgångsrikt landade på Mars yta
| 1. Sojourner (NASA) landade på Mars den 4th juli 1997; kommunikation förlorades den 27th September 1997. |
| 2. Spirit (NASA) landade på Mars den 3rd januari 2004; kommunikation förlorades den 22nd Mars 2010. |
| 3. Möjlighet (NASA) landade på Mars den 24th januari 2004; kommunikation förlorades den 10th Juni 2018. |
| 4. nyfikenhet (NASA) landade på Mars den 6th Augusti 2012 – Aktiv |
| 5. Uthållighet (NASA & ESA) landade på Mars på landade den 18th Februari 2021 – Aktiv |
| 6. Zhurong (CNSA, Kina) landade på Mars den 14th maj 2021; avaktiverad den 20th Maj 2022. |
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Referenser:
- NASA JPL. Nyheter- 20 år efter landning: Hur NASA:s Twin Rovers förändrade Mars Science. Upplagd 17 januari 2023. Finns på https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/20-years-after-landing-how-nasas-twin-rovers-changed-mars-science/
- NASA. Mars Exploration Rovers. Tillgänglig på https://mars.nasa.gov/mer/mission/science/results/
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