Media Information

 
 
 
Collection:
NASA Solarsystem Collection
title:
Mars Exploration Rover "Spirit" Launches
description:
Amid billows of smoke and steam, the Delta II rocket with its Mars Exploration Rover (MER-A) payload lifts off the pad on time at 1:58 p.m. EDT from Launch Complex 17-A, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

MER-A, known as "Spirit," is the first of two rovers being launched to Mars. When the two rovers arrive at the red planet in 2004, they will bounce to airbag-cushioned landings at sites offering a balance of favorable conditions for safe landings and interesting science. The rovers see sharper images, can explore farther and examine rocks better than anything that has ever landed on Mars.

The designated site for the MER-A mission is Gusev Crater, which appears to have been a crater lake. The second rover, MER-B, is scheduled to launch June 25.

*Image Credit*: NASA
date:
06.10.2003
keywords:
Solar System Exploration
keywords:
SSE
keywords:
Space
keywords:
NASA
keywords:
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
keywords:
JPL
keywords:
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
keywords:
Planets
facet_what:
Mars
facet_what:
Spirit
facet_what:
Crater
facet_what:
Mars Exploration Rover (MER)
facet_where:
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
facet_where:
Mars
facet_where:
Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)
facet_when:
2004
facet_when:
06-10-2003
facet_when_year:
2004
facet_when_year:
2003
UID:
SPD-SLRSY-1882
original url:

Mars Exploration Rover "Spirit" Launches