spacetoday.net: Opportunity lands on Mars

Posted: Sun, Jan 25, 2004, 3:04 AM ET (0804 GMT)
Mars Exploration Rover (NASA/JPL)

Opportunity, the second of NASA's twin Mars Exploration Rovers, successfully landed on the surface of Mars early Sunday. The rover landed at 12:05 am EST (0505 GMT) in the Meridiani Planum region of the planet. Flight controllers received signals from the spacecraft throughout the landing process, unlike the Spirit landing three weeks earlier when contact was lost for several minutes after the initial bounce. The spacecraft came to rest on one of its side petals, rather than the base petal, but the spacecraft is designed to right itself during the petal deployment process after deflating its airbags. Initial images of the landing site could be returned several hours later if all goes well.