In January 2004 two NASA rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, landed on opposite sides of Mars. Designed for a three-month mission, Spirit worked for six years and Opportunity for almost fifteen, driving 45 km. Opportunity found hematite spheres and layered rock proving that its landing site had once been wet, with water that could have supported life. Spirit discovered evidence of ancient hot springs in Gusev crater. Together they transformed the picture of Mars as a planet that once had a wetter climate.
Before and after
- 21 December 2003Release of Uzbek Wikipedia
- 25 December 2003Release of Thai Wikipedia
- c. 2000sCreation of Watson
- 2004Construction of Cam Ranh International Airport
- January 2004Spirit and Opportunity land on Mars
- 20 January 2004Creation of Scala
- 27 January 2004Release of Urdu Wikipedia
- 27 January 2004Release of Bangla Wikipedia
- from 28 January 2004 to 17 September 2019Premiere of Winx Club
More in Exploration & discovery
- 27 March 1968Death of Yuri Gagarin
- 14 November 1971Mariner 9 becomes the first spacecraft to orbit another planet
- 3 December 1973Pioneer 10 flies past Jupiter
- 5 March 1979Voyager 1 reveals Jupiter and its volcanic moon Io
- 25 August 1989Voyager 2 flies past Neptune
- 4 July 1997Mars Pathfinder and the Sojourner rover
The era
This moment belongs to the Contemporary world (1945 CE to today), the world since 1945. You can also browse everything in the 21st century.