Landing Ellipse for the Opportunity Rover Mars mission

Navigators on Earth used radio signals to guide the Mars Exploration Rovers to Mars. Shown here is the target area for the rover Opportunity, which landed on Mars in 2004. Mapping and time standards were precise enough to narrow the landing site to an ellipse-shaped area 150 by 20 kilometers (93 by 12½ miles).

Caption:
Navigators used radio signals to guide rovers to Mars. This is the target area for the rover Opportunity, which landed on Mars in 2004.
Type: Illustration
Credit: Courtesy of NASA/JPL/MSSS
Origin: Jet Propulsion Laboratory, National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Navigation Methods
 

430_mer_b_ellipse.jpg

Navigators used radio signals to guide rovers to Mars. This is the target area for the rover Opportunity, which landed on Mars in 2004.