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Return to Mars 2003-2004 on Mars.TV brought to you by SpaceRef
 

    Quick Facts

    Spacecraft

    • Cruise vehicle dimensions: 2.65 meters (8.7 feet) diameter, 1.6 meters (5.2 feet) tall Rover dimensions: 1.5 meter (4.9 feet) high by 2.3 meters (7.5 feet) wide by 1.6 meter (5.2 feet) long
    • Weight: 1,062 kilograms (2,341 pounds) total at launch, consisting of 174-kilogram (384- pound) rover, 365-kilogram (805-pound) lander, 198-kilogram (436-pound) backshell and parachute, 90-kilogram (198-pound) heat shield and 183-kilogram (403-pound) cruise stage, plus 52 kilograms (115 pounds) of propellant
    • Power: Solar panel and lithium-ion battery system providing 140 watts on Mars surface
    • Science instruments: Panoramic cameras, miniature thermal emission spectrometer, Mössbauer spectrometer, alpha particle X-ray spectrometer, microscopic imager, rock abrasion tool, magnet arrays

    Spirit Mission

    • Launch vehicle: Delta II 7925
    • Launch: June 10, 2003, from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla.
    • Earth-Mars distance at launch: 103 million kilometers (64 million miles)
    • Mars landing: Jan. 4, 2004, at about 2:30 p.m. local Mars time (signal received at Earth 8:35 p.m. PST Jan. 3)
    • Landing site: Gusev Crater, possible former lake in giant impact crater
    • Earth-Mars distance on landing day: 170.2 million kilometers (105.7 million miles)
    • One-way speed-of-light time Mars-to-Earth on landing day: 9.46 minutes
    • Total distance traveled Earth to Mars (approximate): 487 million kilometers (303 million miles)
    • Near-surface atmospheric temperature at landing site: -100 C (-148 F) to 0 C (32 F)
    • Primary mission: 90 Mars days, or "sols" (equivalent to 92 Earth days)

    Opportunity Mission

    • Launch vehicle: Delta II 7925H (larger solid-fuel boosters than 7925)
    • Launch: July 7, 2003, from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla.
    • Earth-Mars distance at launch: 78 million kilometers (48 million miles)
    • Mars landing: Jan. 25, 2004, at about 1:15 p.m. local Mars time (signal received at Earth 9:05 p.m. PST Jan. 24)
    • Landing site: Meridiani Planum, where mineral deposits suggest wet past
    • Earth-Mars distance on landing day: 198.7 million kilometers (123.5 million miles)
    • One-way speed-of-light time Mars-to-Earth on landing day: 11 minutes
    • Total distance traveled Earth to Mars (approximate): 456 million kilometers (283 million miles)
    • Near-surface atmospheric temperature at landing site: -100 C (-148 F) to 0 C (32 F)
    • Primary mission: 90 Mars days, or "sols" (equivalent to 92 Earth days)

    Program

    • Cost: Approximately $820 million total, consisting approximately of $645 million spacecraft development and science instruments; $100 million launch; $75 million mission operations and science processing
 

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