The Mars Rovers

​Over the years, NASA has sent five robotic vehicles, called rovers, to Mars. The names of the five rovers are: Sojourner, Spirit and Opportunity, Curiosity, and Perseverance.

What are the Mars rovers?​

​Mars is a fascinating planet. It’s icy cold and covered in reddish dust and dirt. Like Earth, it has volcanoes, gullies, and flat plains. Scientists can also see channels that look like they were carved by rivers and streams a long, long time ago. Over the years, we’ve sent four robotic vehicles, or rovers, to learn more about Mars. And NASA’s fifth Mars rover, Perseverance, landed on the Red Planet in February 2021!

Multiple Choice

What are the Mars Rovers?

• robotic vehicles sent to Mars by NASA

• robotic vehicles sent to Mars by Russia

• automatic vehicles sent to Mars by NASA

• robotic vehicles sent to the moon by NASA

Multiple Choice

What is the environment and terrain like in Mars?

• icy cold and covered in reddish dust and dirt

• Mars has volcanoes, gullies, and flat plains

• there are channels that look like they were carved by rivers and streams a long time ago

• all of the above

Multiple Choice

Sojourner, Spirit and Opportunity, Curiosity, and Patience are the 5 Rovers that have sent to Mars.

• TRUE

• FALSE

​Sojourner is a rover that landed on Mars in 1997 in a location called Ares Vallis where it explored and took many photos.

What is the Sojourner rover?

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​From far away, Mars looks cold, dry, and rocky. But Sojourner's photos and information told a much different story. We learned that a long time ago, Mars used to be a warmer and wetter place.

A photograph taken by Sojourner of a Martian rock. Scientists think that the texture on this rock suggests that it was slowly shaped over time by wind. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

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After the success of the Sojourner rover, NASA wanted to send more rovers to learn about Mars. So, in 2003, they sent two rovers to the Red Planet named Spirit and Opportunity.

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Spirit and Opportunity were sent to Mars to find more clues about the history of water there, and to see if the Red Planet could ever have supported life.​

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What are the Spirit and Opportunity rovers?

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The rocks that Spirit and Opportunity studied showed scientists that a long time ago, water on Mars may have looked a lot like water on Earth. Mars once had lakes and rivers on the surface. Like Earth, it also had water below the ground, as well as water vapor in the atmosphere.

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On Earth, where there is water, there are living things. We know that Mars had water a long time ago. But did it also have other conditions life needs? To find out, NASA sent the Curiosity rover to Mars. Curiosity is the largest robot to ever land on another planet. It is about the size of a small SUV.

Curiosity

​One of Curiosity’s cameras—at the end of its 7 foot long robotic arm—even acts like a sort of “selfie stick.” It can hold the camera two meters away and take a selfie to send back to Earth!

Curiosity brought 17 cameras with it to the Red Planet—more than any other rover. It uses some of its cameras to take photos of its journey. Cameras also act as Curiosity’s eyes, helping it to spot and stay away from danger.

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Perseverance is a rover that landed on Mars on February 18, 2021. It is studying a region of Mars called Jezero Crater. This rover will answer lots of questions about the Red Planet and search for signs of past microbial life.

Perseverance landed in a region of Mars called Jezero Crater. It is a very

old region of Mars, and it may have once been the site of an ancient

river delta. The rocks in this region could tell us about the history

of the Red Planet and may have preserved signatures of

past life on Mars.

Multiple Choice

When did Perseverance land on Mars?

• February 18, 2021

• February 19, 2021

• February 16, 2021

• February 17, 2021

Multiple Choice

What is the name of the first wheeled robot to rove the Red Planet?

• Spirit

• Sojourner

• Perseverance

• Curiosity

Multiple Choice

The rocks that Spirit and Opportunity studied showed scientists that a long time ago, water on Mars may have looked a lot like water on Earth.

• TRUE

• FALSE