Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. On January 3, 2004, NASA's Spirit rover landed on Mars! Also known as Mars Exploration Rover 2, this was the first of NASA's twin ...

This video explored the story of Spirit, the Mars rover that was expected to last 90 days but ended up surviving six years on the red planet. It showed how NASA used an unconventional airbag landing ...

When Spirit dropped through the thin Martian air and bounced to a stop inside Gusev Crater, it did more than survive a high‑risk landing. It opened a new era in which rovers became the primary way ...