Spirit’s three-month mission will be spent traveling several hundred yards to analyze rocks and soil for indirect evidence of life. The ultimate length of the mission depends on the rover’s available solar power. So far the rover has had plenty of power for its "chores" and communications and is in a good position to exit its lander. A second rover named Opportunity, also a part of the $820-million Mars Exploration Rover project, is scheduled to land on the opposite side of the planet. Following are the latest images released from NASA showing the first 360-degree color panorama of the terrain on Mars form its Spirit rover:
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Medium Image 30 kb
Large Image 300 kb
Full Resolution 13 mb
USA Today January 12, 2004
Many of you probably don't know that I wanted to be an astronaut when I was younger. I am very glad I didn't, as I believe God had a bigger plan for me on this planet, and I am convinced that there are far too many dangers of radiation exposure in space that will damage health and that can't be adequately protected against with current technology. Nevertheless, the exploration of Mars is an intriguing subject.
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