On a Mission

In this season 4 finale, Gentry Lee and Rob Manning reveal how surprises, hidden flaws, and uncertainties have always been a part of rovers and the exploration of Mars.

Aaron Yazzie and others explain how, by scooping dirt and drilling rocks, rovers are digging deeper into the mysteries of Mars.

How does a rover keep driving on a planet with no gas stations? Shonte Tucker, Sabah Bux and Rob Manning power us through the ways Mars rovers keep going.

Before a rover can make tracks on Mars, it first has to rocket off Earth, speed through space, and then alight gently on the planet’s surface. Al Chen and Swati Mohan guide us through the many stages of a rover’s flight to Mars.

Buckle up for a Mars tour with rover driver Vandi Verma, and learn how NASA’s rovers have evolved to better explore this alien world.

Bob Balaram and Teddy Tzanetos share stories of how the Mars helicopter came to be, and transport us on Ingenuity’s flights through dusty Martian skies.

The Perseverance rover holds many promises: to look for evidence of life on Mars, to collect rock samples meant to be sent to Earth one day, and to test technology that could be used in a future human Mars mission.

The Curiosity rover is a big nerd at heart, fitted with a science lab to take in the planet Mars. Get the inside scoop on the mission’s many discoveries and dramas after a decade on the Red Planet.

Born together, the Spirit and Opportunity twin rovers followed divergent paths after they landed on opposite sides of Mars. Opportunity’s journey was marked by good fortune, while Spirit’s was troubled from the start.

After two failed missions to Mars, NASA tried to double its odds for success by sending twin rovers to the Red Planet. Part one of the story of Spirit and Opportunity takes us from their birth to their launch from Earth.