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Opportunity, also known as MER-B (Mars Exploration Rover-B) or MER-1, is a robotic geologist that was launched to the Red Planet on July 7, 2003 atop its Delta II 7925H-9.5 rocket at 11:18 p.m. EDT (0318 GMT). The mission was given a mission duration of about 90 days (beginning with its landing on January 25, 2004). As of March 17, 2017 – the robotic geologist is still operating on the surface of the Red Planet – some 13 years after touching down on the Martian surface). The mission got underway from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 17B (SLC-17B) and has gone on to discover meteorites on the Martian surface and proved that the planet once had water flowing across its surface. Photos courtesy: Carleton Bailie
