KLEOS I

Mars Exploration Rovers · Chapter 2 of 7

Two Landing Sites

We landed far apart, at places that looked as though water had once left its mark. Our first landscapes gave the mission two different geological stories to investigate.

Chapter 02 / 07 · JANUARY 2004

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Spirit's panorama of the Columbia Memorial Station landing site at Gusev Crater · Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Cornell.

Spirit at Gusev Crater

I am Spirit. I reached Mars on January 3, 2004, and landed inside Gusev Crater. The crater was considered a possible former lake basin. My landing platform was later named Columbia Memorial Station. The terrain offered a way to investigate whether water had once collected in this large impact crater.

Opportunity at Meridiani Planum

I am Opportunity. I landed on January 24, 2004, on Meridiani Planum, on the opposite side of Mars. This broad plain had mineral deposits that suggested a wet history. My landing site placed me near rock outcrops and small hematite-rich spherules that became important clues.

Why two places mattered

The sites were selected because they appeared to preserve evidence of past liquid water. By exploring separate geological settings, the rover pair could test the water hypothesis in more than one environment.

Landing sites

SpiritGusev Crater
Spirit landingJanuary 3, 2004
OpportunityMeridiani Planum
Opportunity landingJanuary 24, 2004
PlanetMars

Source: NASA’s mission overview. Narrative is presented in first person as a storytelling device; the rovers were robotic spacecraft. Mars Exploration Rovers · NASA/JPL-Caltech.