The launch in late 1996 of the Mars Pathfinder mission with its Sojourner rover then was exciting news indeed. Before Spirit, the exceptionally long-lived Opportunity, and the relatively huge ...

New research from the University of Colorado Boulder reveals how breathing in Martian dust could lead to serious health ...

Mars Pathfinder, which landed in 1997, was aptly named. Spirit, Opportunity, and the Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity have all followed. Author Rob Manning, who has worked at the Jet Propulsion ...

Onboard was a revolutionary method that was all about a bouncy landing. Nasa's Mars Pathfinder mission revolutionised ...

So in order to gain contact with NASA, Watney digs up the Mars Pathfinder, the probe which NASA lost contact with in 1997. He fixes it (woo!) and the probe is able to communicate with Earth.