The two vehicles could not be launched at the same time due to restrictions at the launch site and the availability of supporting teams. The launch period for Spirit used close to the minimum energy to get to Mars in the 2003 opportunity, while Opportunity needed more energy to get to Mars.
Opportunity's launch period was roughly a month later, between June 25 and July 12, 2003.) (Spirit's launch period fell between May 30 and June 16, 2003. The Opportunity rover sits inside the fairing of this Boeing Delta II heavy rocket, awaiting its launch and seven-month journey to Mars.ĭownload full image ›The amount of energy it took to launch each of the two Mars Exploration Rovers was slightly different because the distances between Earth, Mars and the Sun changed in between the two rover launch periods. (For advanced details, see at the JPL website Basics of Space Flight: Launch.) Reasons for the differences Every 26 months, Earth, Mars and the Sun align for the most efficient, least energy-consuming path between Earth and Mars. The traditional Delta II rocket (used to lift Spirit) has been used to propel many NASA missions into space and has a history of more than 40 uccessful launches, but some spacecraft need more energy to propel them on their way to Mars and other planets. The MESSENGER mission to Mercury, the seventh mission selected for NASA's Discovery Program, was launched August 3rd, 2004, on a Delta II heavy. The use of this rocket for the Mars Exploration Rover mission helped pave the way for many future space missions that will need a bit more energy to send them on their way beyond Earth. The launch of the MER-B spacecraft was the second use of a core Delta II "Heavy" launch vehicle and the first use of a Delta II "Heavy" launch vehicle with an upper stage. It is a more powerful vehicle that uses larger strap-on solid rocket motors developed for the Delta III launch vehicle. Opportunity rover aboard the Delta II RocketThe second Mars Exploration Rover, Opportunity, was the first NASA mission lifted on what is referred to as a Delta II "heavy" rocket.
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