Question map
Which one among the following is not a Mars rover?
Explanation
NASA has successfully deployed several robotic rovers to explore the Martian surface. These include Sojourner, which landed in 1997 as part of the Mars Pathfinder project [1], and the twin Mars Exploration Rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, which landed in 2004 [6]. The Mars Science Laboratory mission later landed the Curiosity rover in 2012 [5]. In contrast, the Apollo program was a series of crewed lunar missions conducted by NASA between 1968 and 1972 [2]. While some later Apollo missions (15, 16, and 17) utilized a Lunar Roving Vehicle to transport astronauts on the Moon, the Apollo spacecraft itself consisted of a command module and a lunar module designed for lunar exploration, not Martian exploration [4]. Therefore, Apollo is associated with the Moon rather than being a Mars rover.
Sources
- [1] https://science.nasa.gov/photojournal/size-comparison-three-generations-of-mars-rovers/
- [6] https://science.nasa.gov/mission/mars-exploration-rovers-spirit-and-opportunity/
- [3] https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/mars-rovers/
- [5] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rover_(space_exploration)
- [2] Physical Geography by PMF IAS, Manjunath Thamminidi, PMF IAS (1st ed.) > Chapter 2: The Solar System > Colonizing the Moon > p. 29
- [4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_Lunar_Module