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Mon, Feb 02, 2004

Opportunity Steps Out, Spirit Speaks Up

Both Rovers Now Functional On Martian Surface

With the six-wheel Martian rover Spirit finally talking to its controllers at the Jet Propulsion Lab in Pasadena (CA) again, and its twin rover, Opportunity having rolled off its landing vehicle, two vehicles are exploring the Red Planet at the same time -- a historic first.

"We're two for two! One dozen wheels on the soil," flight director Chris Lewicki announced to the packed control room at 12:30 a.m. PST Sunday.

Both rovers are equipped with onboard analytical laboratories that allow them to take samples of the Martian surface and decipher their contents. But already, JPL scientists say the rovers have confirmed what was suspected all along: a geographical formation called hematite, which forms when water erodes iron-rich rocks.

Now, both rovers are headed for nearby hematite formations, hoping to discern more about the water that may have formed them and whether life once existed on the now-barren planet.

FMI: http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.html

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