To add to Curiosity's recent success, another Mars rover, Opportunity confirmed to NASA that the red planet once had water humans could drink, NASA said in a press release.
Last month, Opportunity studied a rock called "Esperance" and found evidence of a clay-mineral composition.
"The Esperance results are some of the most important findings of our entire mission," Steve Squyres of Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y., principal investigator for the mission, said in the release. "The composition tells us about the environmental conditions that altered the minerals. A lot of water moved through this rock."
Opportunity has spent 10 years away from Earth and has most recently been exploring an area called "Cape York." It's on the move to a destination called "Solander Point."
"Getting to Solander Point will be like walking up to a road cut where you see a cross section of the rock layers," Ray Arvidson, deputy principal investigator for the mission, of Washington University - St. Louis, said.
Opportunity began its Mars mission in July of 2003, with its fellow, Spirit, leaving a month prior. The two rovers marked the beginning of NASA's Mars rover project. Spirit finished its work in 2010 and Opportunity, although aging, is still making important discoveries.
"We're heading to a 15-degree north-facing slope with a goal of getting there well before winter," said John Callas, project manager for the Mars Exploration Rover Project, of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
Opportunity will see its sixth Martian winter in February, Spirit left the planet after four winters on the planet.
Opportunity will head to the edge of the Endeavor Crater towards Solander Point to study its older rocks. Researchers are hoping to learn the history and different environmental stages of the red planet by studying an older part of the planet than they ever have had to the opportunity to.
