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 ...

Imagine trying to land an SUV-sized rover on another world. That's definitely enough of a challenge on its own, but picture doing so while the rover hangs perilously beneath a hovering sky crane, ...

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 ...