Apr 8 2004
From The Space Library
NASA approved a five-month extension of the Mars Exploration Rovers' mission nearly two weeks before its originally scheduled end on 26 April 2004. NASA had originally planned for the mission to last three months but had decided to extend it because the robotic rovers ~ Opportunity and Spirit ~ had satisfied all of their primary mission criteria, achieving several successes, such as discovering evidence that Mars had once had water. According to officials, NASA planned to provide US$15 million to continue the rovers' operations, doubling the mission's duration at less than 2 percent of the overall mission's cost. (NASA, “NASA Extends Mars Rovers' Mission,” news release 04-122, 8 March 2004.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
