The Week in SpaceJanuary 19-25, 2009
 Amazing Opportunity Five years ago this week, the second of NASA’s twin robotic rovers, Opportunity, landed on Mars. At the time, mission planners hoped for Opportunity to function for three months and travel nearly a mile on the Martian surface. As of mid-2008, the rover was still functioning, having traversed over seven miles across Meridiani Planum, where deposits of the mineral hematite suggest that Mars had a wet past. Suffering from a stiff shoulder joint in its robotic arm, and a build-up of dust on its solar panels, Opportunity continues to wildly exceed all performance expectations, just like its twin rover, Spirit. The image above superimposes an artist’s concept of Opportunity (shown to scale) on the rim of the half-mile-wide Victoria Crater, where the rover is expected to spend a year exploring. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Solar System Visualization Team Weekly CalendarJanuary 19-25, 2009Holidays - Sky Events - Space History
|
Customer Comment
I love the pics in the calendars, and also the info on watching the moon and the meteor showers. I always check to see what is coming up. ;-)--Christine B., Duncannon, PA
Monday 19
Tuesday 20
Wednesday 21
Thursday 22
Friday 23
Saturday 24
Sunday 25
Suggestions for new history dates or better links? Corrections for errors on this page? Please e-mail me.