Curiosity, Perseverance, Spirit, Opportunity, and Red Planet exploration.
Test your knowledge with these top questions!
The Mars rover Opportunity outlived its planned 90-day mission by how long?
Opportunity kept rolling for 14 years, covering a marathon distance of about 28 miles, until a massive dust storm blocked its solar power in 2018.
Why does the Curiosity Mars rover fire a laser at rocks?
The laser turns a tiny spot of rock into glowing gas, whose light reveals the chemical elements present.
What power source keeps NASA's Curiosity rover running on Mars?
A radioisotope generator converts heat from plutonium-238's decay into electricity, so Curiosity keeps working through dust storms and Martian nights.
NASA sent the Curiosity rover to explore which planet?
Curiosity found evidence that ancient Mars had freshwater environments where microbes could have lived.
Which Mars rover carried a tiny helicopter named Ingenuity to the red planet?
Perseverance carried Ingenuity to Mars, and the small helicopter made its first powered flight there in April 2021.
How many wheels does NASA's Curiosity rover have?
Each wheel has its own motor, and the suspension lets the rover keep its wheels on uneven ground.
For what purpose did Mars rover Curiosity accidentally discover pure sulfur rocks?
Sulfur on Mars usually forms near ancient hot springs, and Curiosity found it in a channel that once held flowing water.
What lowered the Curiosity rover onto Mars during the final stage of its landing?
The hovering descent stage lowered Curiosity on cables, then flew away so it would not crash onto the rover.
Which Mars rover carried Ingenuity, the first helicopter to fly on another planet?
Ingenuity flew 72 times before NASA retired it in 2024 after damage to its rotor blades.
Which rover, active from 2004 to 2018, holds the record for farthest distance driven on Mars?
Opportunity covered roughly 28 miles and explored for nearly 15 years instead of its planned 90 days.