Spirit Mars Exploration Rover on Mars. This is a composite of images taken by Spirit on 27th August 2005 Spirit landed on Mars on 4th January 2004 and

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Spirit Mars Exploration Rover on Mars. This is a composite of images taken by Spirit on 27th August 2005 Spirit landed on Mars on 4th January 2004 and conducted many studies of soil, rocks and the atmosphere. This image was taken on the 586th Martian day (sol) after landing. Spirit and its twin rover Opportunity were only designed to have a working life of around 90 sols. Martian dust accumulating on the solar panels that power the rover reduced its power levels, but on 12th March 2005 a dust devil blew much of the dust from the panels, returning them to nearly their initial levels. The colours here are approximately true.

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Size: 5814px × 4508px
Photo credit: © NASA/JPL-CALTECH/CORNELL UNIVERSITY/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: 2005, 21st, astronomical, astronomy, cell, century, circle, circular, crater, exploration, gusev, mars, martian, outcrop, panel, panels, photovoltaic, plain, planetary, rim, rock, rocks, rocky, rover, science, solar, spirit, surface