10-Year-Old Opportunity Rover Is Still Finding Crazy Stuff on Mars

NASA's Opportunity rover may have landed on Mars 10 years ago, but it's still sending valuable data to scientists on Earth. The rover's latest findings show that water once stirred rocks on the edge of the Endeavor Crater — and it was suitable for life

Much of the evidence of water we've previously seen on Mars shows that it was very acidic — scientists often compare it to Spain's Rio Tinto, which is famous for its deep reddish color and acidity — and therefore not the greatest place to sustain even the "hardiest extremophile microorganisms," as researchers put it. That super-salty, highly-acidic water is a signature trait of a more recent Mars. Read more...