Flight Director's Updates - The NASA flight director describes daily activities for Opportunity and Spirit.

"Columbia Hills" from Orbit - This view of the "Columbia Hills" in Gusev Crater was made by draping an image from the Mars Orbiter Camera on NASA's Mars Global Surveyor orbiter (image E0300012 from that camera) over a digital elevation model that was derived from two Mars Orbiter Camera images (E0300012 and R0200357).

A Crater of Clues to Mars' Buried Past - This approximate true-color image taken by the panoramic camera on the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity shows the impact crater known as "Endurance."

NASA Rover Behold 'Endurance'! (3-D) - This three-dimensional, 180-degree view from the navigation camera on the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity is the first look inside "Endurance Crater." The view is a cylindrical-perspective projection constructed from four images.

NASA Rover Opportunity Almost There! - This three-dimensional, cylindrical-perspective projection was constructed from images taken by the navigation camera on the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity. The images were acquired on sol 94 (April 29, 2004) of Opportunity's mission to Meridiani Planum.

NASA Rover Opportunity Travels to Date - This overview map made from Mars Orbiter camera images illustrates the path that the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity has taken from its first sol on the red planet through its 87th sol.

NASA Rover Spirit Travels to Date - This overview map made from Mars Orbiter camera images illustrates the path that the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit has taken from its first sol on the red planet through its 107th sol.

NASA Opportunity One View, Two Craters (3-D) - This 3-D cylindrical-perspective projection was constructed from a sequence of four images taken by the navigation camera onboard the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity.

NASA Opportunity Trenching the Trough - This animation shows the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity digging a trench near the trough dubbed "Anatolia" with its left front wheel on sol 73. It was taken by the rover's hazard-avoidance camera.

NASA Rover Opportunity A Puzzling Crack - This image, acquired by the panoramic camera on the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity, highlights the vast plains of Meridiani Planum. The science team is currently focused on the sinuous crack, which consists of a series of deep dimples sprinkled with rocks that resemble, from a distance, those in the "Eagle Crater" outcrop.

NASA Rover Opportunity At Work on 'Bounce Rock' - NASA's Opportunity used its robotic arm to examine "Bounce Rock" during the rover's 67th sol on Mars, April 1, 2004. This animation is made up of eight images taken with the front hazard-avoidance camera while the arm, called the instrument deployment device, was in various positions during that sol.

NASA Rover Spirit - Grind the Rock - This image was taken by the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit's panoramic camera during the rover's grinding of the rock dubbed "Mazatzal" with its rock abrasion tool.

NASA Spirit Rover - What Lies Ahead (3-D) - This 3-D cylindrical-perspective mosaic taken by the navigation camera on the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit on sol 82 shows the view south of the large crater dubbed "Bonneville."

NASA Spirit Rover - Getting There is Half the Fun - This map shows the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit's past and future routes across the Gusev Crater floor. The solid red line shows where the rover has traveled so far, from lander to the rim of the large crater dubbed "Bonneville."

A Well-Traveled 'Eagle Crater' (3D) - This is the 3-D version of the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity's view on its 56th sol on Mars, before it left "Eagle Crater."

Discovery Served Up in a Bowl - This image from the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity's panoramic camera is an approximate true-color rendering of the exceptional rock called "Berry Bowl" in the "Eagle Crater" outcrop.

Looking Back at 'Eagle Crater' - This image is the first 360-degree view from the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity's new position outside "Eagle Crater," the small crater where the rover landed about two months ago.

Eyeing "Eagle Crater" - This image mosaic, compiled from navigation and panoramic camera images during the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity's 33rd, 35th, and 36th sols on Mars, shows a panoramic view of the crater where the rover had been exploring since its dramatic arrival in late January 2004.

NASA Spirit To 'Bonneville' and Beyond - The route of NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit, from its landing site to its location on sol 72 (March 16, 2004) near the rim of the large crater dubbed "Bonneville" is pictured here on this traverse map.

Spirit's Destination - This image, cropped from a larger panoramic image mosaic taken by the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit panoramic camera, shows the rover's destination toward the hills nicknamed the "Columbia Hills."

NASA Opportunity Studies Bait in Shark's Cage - In the “Shark’s Cage” area of the neighborhood called “Shoemaker’s Patio,” featured in this image from the front hazard avoidance camera, Opportunity deployed its arm to study the features called “Shark’s Tooth,” “Shark Pellets,” and “Lamination.”

NASA Mars Opportunity Rover Finds Evidence of Past Liquid Water - NASA scientists have concluded the part of Mars NASA's Opportunity rover is exploring was once drenched in liquid water.

Opportunity Landing Spot Panorama (3-D Model) - The rocky outcrop traversed by the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity is visible in this three-dimensional model of the rover's landing site. Opportunity has acquired close-up images along the way, and scientists are using the rover's instruments to closely examine portions of interest. The white fragments that look crumpled near the center of the image are portions of the airbags.

The Texture of El Capitan - This image, taken by the panoramic camera on the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity, shows a close up of the rock dubbed "El Capitan," located in the rock outcrop at Meridiani Planum, Mars. This image shows fine, parallel lamination in the upper area of the rock, which also contains scattered sphere-shaped objects ranging from 1 to 2 millimeters (.04 to .08 inches) in size. There are also more abundant, scattered vugs, or small cavities, that are shaped like discs. These are about 1 centimeter (0.4 inches) long.

The Sun Sets on Mars - On Sol 20 of its journey, Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity woke up around 5:30 p.m. in the martian afternoon to watch the sunset. This is a still image from the rover's panoramic camera showing Sun just over the horizon. The rover is looking to the southwest. This image is only approximate true color, using infrared, green and violet filters, rather than the human red-green-blue, so that the maximum panoramic camera wavelength range could be covered by the observations, enhancing the scientific value of the measurements.

Opportunity at "El Capitan" - NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity casts a shadow over the El Capitan area that the rover is examining with tools on its robotic arm. Opportunity took this image with its front hazard-avoidance camera on Feb. 23, 2004, during the rover's 29th martian day, or sol. Opportunity used its rock abrasion tool to grind a small hole into Opportunity Ledge later on sol 29 to prepare for using the other tools on its arm to analyze the freshly exposed rock during subsequent sols.

NASA Spirit Sailing to White Boat - This is a composite red-green-blue image of the rock called White Boat. It is the first rock target that Spirit drove to after finishing a series of investigations on the rock Adirondack. White Boat stood out to scientists due to its light color and more tabular shape compared to the dark, rounded rocks that surround it.

Mars Express Views the Caldera of Olympus Mons Close-up - View from overhead of the complex caldera (summit crater) at the summit of Olympus Mons on Mars, the highest volcano in our Solar System.

NASA Spirit Grinds First Rock on Mars - The round, shallow depression in this image resulted from history's first grinding of a rock on Mars. The rock abrasion tool on NASA's Spirit rover ground off the surface of a patch 45.5 millimeters (1.8 inches) in diameter on a rock called Adirondack during Spirit's 34th sol on Mars, Feb. 6, 2004.

NASA Mars Rover Animation Spoof - Editors note: I got this short animation from someone@nasa.gov. Have a look. It is one of the funniest things I have seen in a long time - much in the tradition of Roadrunner cartoons. Dan Maas, the creator of the official MER animation, also made this arm spin spoof.

NASA Oportunity Mars Rover Image: MiniTES Hematite Measurements - This map of a portion of the small crater currently encircling the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity shows where crystalline hematite resides. Red and orange patches indicate high levels of the iron-bearing mineral, while blue and green denote low levels.

NASA Opportunity Drives on Mars - NASA's Opportunity rover drove about 3.5 meters (11 feet) late Wednesday toward a rock outcrop in the wall of a small crater on Mars, and mission controllers plan to send it the rest of the way to the outcrop late Thursday.

NASA Mars Opportunity and Its Mother Ship - This image mosaic captured by the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity's navigation camera shows the rover and the now-empty lander that carried it 283 million miles to Meridiani Planum, Mars. Engineers received confirmation that Opportunity's six wheels rolled off the lander and onto martian soil at 3:02 a.m. PST, January 31, 2004, on the seventh martian day, or sol, of the mission. The rover, seen at the bottom of the image, is approximately 1 meter (3 feet) in front of the lander, facing north.

NASA Opportunity's As Far as Opportunity's Eye Can See - This expansive view of the martian real estate surrounding the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity is the first 360 degree, high-resolution color image taken by the rover's panoramic camera. The airbag marks, or footprints, seen in the soil trace the route by which Opportunity rolled to its final resting spot inside a small crater at Meridiani Planum, Mars. The exposed rock outcropping is a future target for further examination. This image mosaic consists of 225 individual frames.

NASA Opportunity's Vacant Lander in 3-D - This 3-D image captured by the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity's rear hazard-identification camera shows the now-empty lander that carried the rover 283 million miles to Meridiani Planum, Mars. Engineers received confirmation that Opportunity's six wheels successfully rolled off the lander and onto martian soil at 3:01 a.m. PST, January 31, 2004, on the seventh martian day, or sol, of the mission. The rover is approximately 1 meter (3 feet) in front of the lander, facing north.

A Look Back At Challenger Memorial Station - NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity drove down a reinforced fabric ramp at the front of its lander platform and onto the soil of Mars' Meridiani Planum this morning. Also, new science results from the rover indicate that the site does indeed have a type of mineral, crystalline hematite, that was the principal reason the site was selected for exploration.

Recovering Spirit Sends A New Picture - NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit took and returned this image on January 28, 2004, the first picture from Spirit since problems with communications began a week earlier. The image from the rover's front hazard identification camera shows the robotic arm extended to the rock called Adirondack. Engineers are working to restore Spirit to working order so that the rover can resume the scientific exploration of its landing area.

Martian Landmarks Dedicated to Apollo 1 Crew - NASA memorialized the Apollo 1 crew by dedicating the hills surrounding the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit's landing site to the astronauts. The crew of Apollo 1 perished during a launch pad test of their Apollo spacecraft 37 years ago today.

NASA Rover Opportunity Geologist's Treasure Trove - This high-resolution image captured by the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity's panoramic camera highlights the puzzling rock outcropping that scientists eagerly wait to investigate. These layered rocks measure only 10 centimeters (4 inches) tall and are thought to be either volcanic ash deposits or sediments carried by water or wind.

NASA Mars Opportunity Rover "A Hole in One" - The interior of a crater surrounding the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity at Meridiani Planum on Mars can be seen in this color image from the rover's panoramic camera. This is the darkest landing site ever visited by a spacecraft on Mars.

NASA Mars Opportunity Rover Stereoscopic Anaglyphs - Once again Jeffrey Williams at Marsunearthed.com has been kind enough to allow us to post anaglphs he has made of images received from Oportunity on Mars early this morning. Get out your 3D glasses.

NASA Rover Opportunity Sends Back First Color Image - This color image shows the martian landscape at Meridiani Planum, where the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity successfully landed at 9:05 p.m. PST on Saturday. This is one of the first images beamed back to Earth from the rover shortly after it touched down. The image was captured by the rover's panoramic camera.

NASA Rover Opportunity Lands Successfully - NASA's Mars Opportunity Rover landed on the Surface of Mars this evening at 9:05 PM PST. At about 1:09 AM PST the first images from Opportunity were shown at mission control.

Europe's Mars Express Sends Back Incredible Photo's - This picture was taken by the High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) onboard ESA's Mars Express orbiter, in colour and 3D, in orbit 18 on 15 January 2004 from a height of 273 km. The location is east of the Hellas basin at 41° South and 101° East. The area is 100 km across, with a resolution of 12 m per pixel, and shows a channel (Reull Vallis) once formed by flowing water. The landscape is seen in a vertical view, North is at the top. Accompanying this picture are two of the first released movies.

Rover Navigation 101: Autonomous Rover Navigation - This fun and educational video provides an overview on how NASA's rovers Spirit and Opportunity move from point to point on Mars.

NASA Spirit 3-D Perspective of Adirondack - This 3-D perspective "video" made from images taken by the panoramic camera onboard the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit shows "Adirondack," the rover's first target rock. Spirit traversed the sandy martian terrain at Gusev Crater to arrive in front of the football-sized rock on Sunday, Jan. 18, 2004, just three days after it successfully rolled off the lander. The rock was selected as Spirit's first target because it has a flat surface and is relatively free of dust - ideal conditions for grinding into the rock to expose fresh rock underneath. Clean surfaces also are better for examining a rock's top coating. Scientists named the angular rock after the Adirondack mountain range in New York. The word Adirondack is Native American and is interpreted by some to mean "They of the great rocks." Data from the panoramic camera's red, green and blue filters were combined to create this true color image. Credit: NASA/JPL/Cornell

NASA Spirit 3-D Perspective of Adirondack - This video was rendered from the software used by engineers to test and drive the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit. The software simulates the rover's movements across the martian terrain, helping to plot a safe course. Here, engineers simulated Spirit's first post-egress drive on Mars Sunday. The 3-meter (10-foot) drive totaled approximately 30 minutes, including time to stop and take images. The rover drove toward its first rock target, a mountain-shaped rock called Adirondack. The blue line denotes the path of the rover's "belly button," as engineers like to call it, as the rover drove toward Adirondack. The virtual 3-D world around the rover was built from images taken by Spirit's stereo navigation cameras. Regions for which the rover has not yet acquired 3-D data are represented in beige. Credit: NASA/JPL/Cornell

NASA Spirit Rover Takes a Sunday Drive - This animation, made with images from the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit hazard-identification camera, shows the rover's perspective of its first post-egress drive on Mars Sunday. Engineers drove Spirit approximately 3 meters (10 feet) toward its first rock target, a football-sized, mountain-shaped rock called Adirondack. The drive took approximately 30 minutes to complete, including time stopped to take images. Spirit first made a series of arcing turns totaling approximately 1 meter (3 feet). It then turned in place and made a series of short, straightforward movements totaling approximately 2 meters (6.5 feet). Credit: NASA/JPL/Cornell

NASA Spirit's Surroundings Beckon in Color Panorama - The first 360-degree color view from NASA's Spirit Mars Exploration Rover presents a range of tempting targets from nearby rocks to hills on the horizon.

NASA Releases First Color Image of Martian Surface Taken by Spirit Rover - This is the first color image of Mars taken by the panoramic camera on the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit. It is the highest resolution image ever taken on the surface of another planet.

NASA's Spirit Lands on Mars - David Palermo has created this stunning Quicktime VR Panorama from Spirit's first images.

Ius Chasma, Valles Marineris Fly By - Kees Veenenbos provides this glimpse into Ius Chasma. Kees latest rendering is featured on the cover of the January issue of National Geographic.

Canadian Space Agency Mars Technology Concepts - The Canadian Space Agency has been focusing some of its Mars efforts into new LIDAR based landing technology as well as drilling technology. This video showcases these technologies for a future mission.