This picture shows Meridiani Planum. Opportunity landed inside the yellow oval. The oval is 81 km (50 miles) long.
Click on image for full size
Windows to the Universe original artwork by Randy Russell using images courtesy NASA/JPL.
Where did Opportunity land? Meridiani Planum!
Two robot rovers
landed on Mars in January 2004. They are called the Mars
Exploration Rover mission. One rover is named Spirit. The other is called
Opportunity. Opportunity landed at a place called Meridiani
Planum.
Meridiani Planum is a very flat plain. "Planum" means "plain".
Even though the plain is mostly flat, Opportunity ended up inside a crater!
Don't worry - the crater is very small and the rover should be able to drive
out of it.
Some minerals on Earth form in wet
places. One of those minerals is called hematite.
Scientists think there is hematite at Meridiani Planum. Opportunity is searching
for hematite. If it finds some, that might mean that the plain used to be wet.
Opportunity has a twin. Its twin is named Spirit. Spirit landed at a different
place on Mars. Spirit landed at a place called
Gusev
Crater.
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