Meridiani Planum at Mars. This fine view is of Meridiani Planum plains at Mars as seen by NASA twin rover Opportunity. Opportunity is part of the Mars Exploration Rover (MER) mission which launched in 2003 and landed at the Red Planet by 2004's beginning. These two identical rovers are in search of Mars watery and life-friendly past. Opportunity had a great luck to land just inside a small crater. The latter provided the rover with all materials which were needed for its mission. About February, 3rd 2004 team scientists became sure that those plains had endured a persistently, strong, watery environment. Answer is yes to Mars having had a sufficient watery past for life! View is headed East. Near and sun-illuminated far sides of a 175 yards wide crater, lying half a mile away, are seen on the horizon. Foreground dark feature is a 16-feet crater just 164 ft from the rover. Such a view finely renders that this place might be found at any of Earth's deserts as at the same time it is definitely extra-terrestrial. picture courtesy NASA/JPL/Cornell/MSSS