After a journey of almost three years, NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity has reached the Red Planet's Endeavour crater to study rocks never seen before.
On Aug. 9, the golf cart-sized rover relayed its arrival at a location named Spirit Point on the crater's rim. Opportunity drove approximately 13 miles (21 kilometers) since climbing out of the Victoria crater.
"NASA is continuing to write remarkable chapters in our nation's story of exploration with discoveries on Mars and trips to an array of challenging new destinations," NASA Administrator Charles Bolden said. "Opportunity's findings and data from the upcoming Mars Science Laboratory will play a key role in making possible future human missions to Mars and other places where humans have not yet been."
Man, this new crater is huge. Check out from 0:30 to 1:10. The Victoria crater is nothing compared to the Endeavour crater.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMnt6PWYscg&feature=player_embedded#at=45
Excellent news. Whoah has this little Mars rover ever exceeded its design specs or what? I understand it was only "meant" to last a few months or so. Impressive performance and it just keeps going ..and going .. Brilliantly