Two
Jet Propulsion Laboratory engineers stand with three vehicles, providing a size comparison of three generations of
Mars rovers. Front and center is the flight spare for the first Mars rover,
Sojourner, which landed on Mars in 1997 as part of the Mars Pathfinder Project. On the left is a
Mars Exploration Rover test vehicle, a working sibling to
Spirit and
Opportunity, which landed on Mars in 2004. On the right is a test rover for the Mars Science Laboratory, which landed
Curiosity on Mars in 2012.
Photograph: NASA