2016-01-04 Mon

‘Spirit’ the NASA Mars Rover successfully lands on Mars on 4th January 2004!

The twin-Rover mission to Mars is commemorated by a beautiful 141.7 g. (5 oz.) pure silver proof medal. The designs were created by Alex Shagin and approved by NASA.

The obverse features the two Rovers on the surface of Mars, with a portion of our planetary system in the background; the inscription reads "MARS EXPLORATION ROVERS • SPIRIT • VI-10 • OPPORTUNITY • VII-7."

The reverse contains the NASA logo within a stylized sun; the surrounding legend reads "UNITED STATES NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION • 2003."

"Opportunity" was launched on July 7, 2003 and "Spirit" on June 10. The twin spacecrafts in NASA's Mars Exploration Rover project carried field-geology robots for exploring Mars.