20031776 Club
Opportunity lifts off for Mars; a Delta II Heavy flies that configuration for the first time
The second of two twin rovers heads for Meridiani Planum, built to last 90 Martian days, with a January landing ahead and one question to answer: did water ever flow there?
In the summer of 2003, NASA was sending two identical rovers to Mars to answer a single question: had water ever flowed there? On July 7, a Delta II Heavy rocket, flying in that configuration for the first time, lifted off from Cape Canaveral carrying Opportunity, the second of the twin Mars Exploration Rovers, toward a January landing at Meridiani Planum. Engineers had built it to last 90 Martian days. It worked for over fourteen years…
