On July 4, 1997, Sojourner, the Mars Pathfinder robotic rover landed successfully on Mars. It explored the Red Plant for almost three months, but covered just over 100 m. The mission carried a series of scientific instruments to analyze the Martian atmosphere, climate, geology and the composition of its rocks and soil. This mission was the first of a series of missions to Mars that included rovers, and was the first successful lander. Lunar and Mars rovers - in this photo gallery by TASS
From the Moon to Mars: space rovers exploring planets
On July 4, 1997, Sojourner, the Mars Pathfinder robotic rover landed successfully on Mars
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The Lunokhod 1 rover landed on the Moon in November 1970. It was the first roving remote-controlled robot to land on any celestial body. During its operation, Lunokhod 1 transmitted to Earth more than 20,000 TV images and 206 high-resolution panoramas
© Nikolai Akimov/Fotokhronika TASS Lunokhod 2 was the second of two unmanned lunar rovers landed on the Moon by the Soviet Union as part of the Lunokhod program. The rover became operational on the Moon on January 16, 1973
© Nikolai Akimov/Fotokhronika TASS Chinese unmanned lunar rover Yutu (Jade Rabbit) that formed part of the Chinese Chang'e 3 mission to the Moon, reached the Moon's surface on 14 December 2013. The mission marked the first soft landing on the Moon since 1976 and the first rover to operate there since the Soviet Lunokhod 2 ceased operations on 11 May 1973
© AP Photo/Xinhua, File Sojourner, the Mars Pathfinder robotic rover landed on July 4, 1997 and explored Mars for around three months
© AP Photo/JPL Robotic rover Spirit was active on Mars from 2004 to 2010. It was one of two rovers of NASA's ongoing Mars Exploration Rover Mission
© NASA Second NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Mission vehicle - Opportunity - is still active on the planet Mars since 2004. It landed on the surface of Mars in 2004, three weeks after its twin Spirit touched down on the other side of the planet
© NASA Curiosity robotic rover landed on the surface of Mars in August 2012 and is currently helping to determine whether Mars could ever have supported life, and search for evidence of past or present life on this planet
© NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS