The Mars rover Opportunity is in the news again. It's mission was supposed to last 90 days. It has been working for 7 years. And while it's companion rover Spirit finally gave up the ghost earlier this year, the "little Rover that could" is still making breakthrough discoveries. IBT: Mars Rover Opportunity got a second wind and has discovered a rock that is "different from any rock ever seen on Mars," said Steve Squyres, principal investigator for Opportunity at Cornell University. Three years ago, Opportunity climbed out of the Victoria crater on Mars, which it had spent two years studying. Three weeks ago, it arrived at the rim of the Endeavour crater. "This is like having a brand new landing site for our veteran rover," said Dave Lavery, program executive for NASA's Mars Exploration Rovers. At Endeavour's rim, Opportunity discovered the unprecedented rock, which is about the size of a footstool. It was excavated by an impact that formed a crater the size of a tennis court. The...(Read Full Post)