Which NASA rover landed in Gusev crater in 2004?

NASA’s Spirit rover landed in Gusev crater on Mars in 2004.

Spirit arrived on January 4, 2004, as one half of NASA’s Mars Exploration Rover mission. Engineers targeted Gusev crater because orbital images suggested it might once have held a lake, making it a promising place to search for geological evidence of ancient water.

Spirit used an airbag-assisted landing system, then rolled away from its lander platform to begin a mission designed to last only 90 Martian sols. It ultimately operated for years, examining rocks and soil, climbing the Columbia Hills, and finding signs that water had altered some materials in the region’s past.

The most common confusion is with its twin, Opportunity. Opportunity landed on January 25, 2004, in Meridiani Planum, on the opposite side of Mars. Curiosity arrived much later, in 2012, at Gale crater, while Perseverance landed in Jezero crater in 2021. Spirit’s final communication came in March 2010, and NASA ended recovery efforts in 2011.