Spirit Rover's Six-Year Martian Adventure: January 2nd Legacy
Published: January 2, 2026
Duration: 1:52
# Astronomy Tonight Podcast
This is your Astronomy Tonight podcast.
Welcome back, stargazers! On January 2nd, we have a truly spectacular astronomical milestone to celebrate – and it involves one of the most ambitious missions humanity has ever launched into the cosmos.
On January 2nd, 2004, the Spirit rover touched down on Mars in Gusev Crater, and let me tell you, this little six-wheeled explorer was about to rewrite what we thought we knew about the Red Planet. Scientists had planned for a 90-day mission – just three months of poking around the Martian dirt. But Spirit had othe...
This is your Astronomy Tonight podcast.
Welcome back, stargazers! On January 2nd, we have a truly spectacular astronomical milestone to celebrate – and it involves one of the most ambitious missions humanity has ever launched into the cosmos.
On January 2nd, 2004, the Spirit rover touched down on Mars in Gusev Crater, and let me tell you, this little six-wheeled explorer was about to rewrite what we thought we knew about the Red Planet. Scientists had planned for a 90-day mission – just three months of poking around the Martian dirt. But Spirit had othe...