LAist is part of Southern California Public Radio (SCPR), a member-supported public media network. Hear our news on-air at our partner site:
It's been 10 (Earth) years since JPL's Mars rovers Spirit and Opportunity started rolling across the red planet. Crazy, right?
Spirit, which landed Jan. 4, 2004, eventually got stuck in 2010, but Opportunity, which landed Jan. 25, 2004, is still roving as you read this. The rovers were designed to last for around 90 days while searching for evidence of water in the Martian past.
Spirit and Opportunity launched before Facebook or Twitter existed. And even now, with our lives ever so crowded by stupid technology like Snapchat and Google Glass, these 10-year-old interstellar Power Wheels are still pretty freakin' amazing.
Here's a gallery of some rad Martian vistas that Spirit and Opportunity have captured.