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Mars Pathfinder [1] was an American robotic spacecraft that landed a base station with a roving probe on Mars in 1997. It consisted of a lander, renamed the Carl Sagan Memorial Station, and a lightweight, 10.6 kg (23 lb) wheeled robotic Mars rover named Sojourner, [4] the first rover to operate outside the Earth–Moon system.
On the right is a Mars Science Laboratory test rover the size of that project's Mars rover, Curiosity, which landed on Mars in 2012. Sojourner and its flight spare, Marie Curie, are 65 cm long. The MER's rovers are 1.6 m long. The Curiosity rover is 3 m long. Comparison of wheels of Sojourner, Spirit and Opportunity, and Curiosity rovers.
Since the camera's position was consistent, it is thus possible to see these images of the rover in the context of the entire landscape. This provides a visual scale for understanding the sizes and distances of rocks surrounding the lander as well as a record of the travels of the rover. Several of the rover images were captured in full color.
Talk to the Man Who Led Curiosity to the Surface of Mars: Adam Steltzner, Gizmodo, video interview 5m12s, August 14, 2012. What's It's Like to Land on Mars, NASA.gov, video 4m06s. Steltzner narrates the Curiosity landing. 7 Minutes of Terror: The Challenges of Getting to Mars, YouTube.com, video 5m08s.
Astronomers reflect on the 25th anniversary of the Mars rover landing, the first wheeled robot to roam a planet.
The Mars 2 lander failed to land and impacted Mars. The Mars 3 lander became the first probe to successfully soft-land on Mars, but its data-gathering had less success. The lander began transmitting to the Mars 3 orbiter 90 seconds after landing, but after 14.5 seconds, transmission ceased for unknown reasons.
Amid growing anxieties surrounding reported drone sightings, the FBI has issued a warning against a new trend of pointing lasers at aircrafts.
This system is also much more precise: while the Mars Exploration Rovers could have landed anywhere within their respective 93-mile by 12-mile (150 by 20 kilometer) landing ellipses, Mars Science Laboratory landed within a 12-mile (20-kilometer) ellipse. [7] Mars 2020 has even more precise system, and landing ellipse of 7.7 by 6.6 km. [8]