Latest Opportunity rover Stories

WASHINGTON, Sept. 1, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The initial work of NASA's Mars rover Opportunity at its new location on Mars shows surface compositional differences from anything the robot has studied in its first 7.5 years of exploration. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20081007/38461LOGO) Opportunity arrived three weeks ago at the rim of a 14-mile-wide (22-kilometer-wide) crater named Endeavour. The first rock it examined is flat-topped and about the size of a footstool....

  NASA said on Thursday that its Opportunity rover has started to study Martian surface composition from its new location. Opportunity arrived earlier in August at the rim of a 14-mile-wide crater named Endeavour.  The first rock examined by the rover was flat-topped and about the size of a footstool, according to NASA. "This is different from any rock ever seen on Mars," Steve Squyres, principal investigator for Opportunity at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y., said in a press...

NASA will host a media teleconference on Thursday, Sept. 1, at 12:30 p.m. PDT to discuss progress of NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity. Opportunity reached the Martian Endeavour crater earlier this month after years of driving. The teleconference participants are: -- Dave Lavery, program executive, Mars Exploration Rovers, NASA Headquarters, Washington -- Steve Squyres, principal investigator, Mars Exploration Rovers, Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y. -- Ray Arvidson,...

CRATER LAKE, Ore., Aug. 18, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- U-Haul today announced the release of 1,800 new moving vans showcasing majestic Crater Lake, Nuytco's Deep Rover submersible and the discoveries being made beyond the blue, in the dark depths of the lake. Unlike anywhere else on Earth, with its deep, pure-blue water, serene surrounding cliffs and violent volcanic past, Crater Lake has inspired visitors and scientists alike for more than 100 years. This newest SuperGraphic, honoring the state...

NASA said on Friday that its $2.4 billion Mars Science Laboratory has completed a series of functional tests to verify the car-sized rover's readiness for launch in November.Engineers will now fold up opportunity's robotic arm, camera mast, wheels and suspension so it can be packed inside a protective aeroshell. The spacecraft will then be attached to its interplanetary cruise stage and hauled out to launch complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in October. The space agency is...

CRATER LAKE, Ore., Aug. 12, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- U-Haul today announced the release of 1,800 new moving vans showcasing majestic Crater Lake, Nuytco's Deep Rover submersible and the discoveries being made beyond the blue, in the dark depths of the lake. Unlike anywhere else on Earth, with its deep, pure-blue water, serene surrounding cliffs and violent volcanic past, Crater Lake has inspired visitors and scientists alike for more than 100 years. This newest SuperGraphic, honoring the state...

WASHINGTON, Aug. 10, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- After a journey of almost three years, NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity has reached the Red Planet's Endeavour crater to study rocks never seen before. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20081007/38461LOGO) On Aug. 9, the golf cart-sized rover relayed its arrival at a location named Spirit Point on the crater's rim. Opportunity drove approximately 13 miles (21 kilometers) after climbing out of the Victoria crater. "NASA...

NASA said on Wednesday that its Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity has reached the planet's Endeavour Crater after a three year journey.The rover relayed its arrival at a location named Spirit Point on the crater's rim.NASA selected "Spirit Point" as an informal name for the site to commemorate Opportunity's rover twin, Spirit, which ended communication and finished its mission earlier this year.Opportunity has driven roughly 13 miles since climbing out of the Victoria...

NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity is poised to reach the rim of a large crater, beginning a new phase of research for the rover. Opportunity drove out of Victoria crater in August 2008, and now only 2 miles stand in its way of driving out of Endeavour crater.NASA selected "Spirit Point" as an informal name for the site on the rim where Opportunity will arrive at the Endeavour crater. The choice commemorates Opportunity's rover twin, Spirit, which ended communication and...

NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity has driven over 20 miles in seven years, which is over 50 times the mission's original distance goal. NASA said the rover completed a 407-foot drive on July 17 that took Opportunity past the 20-mile mark.  The drive brought Opportunity to within a few drives of reaching the rim of Endeavour crater, which is the rover team's long-term destination since mid-2008. The crater is about 14-miles in diameter, and its western rim exposes outcrops that...