Editing Category:Mars rovers

*A {{w|Mars rover}} is an automated motor vehicle that propels itself across the surface of the planet {{w|Mars}} upon arrival.
*They are featured prominently in several {{xkcd}} comics, and are often mention/referenced in other comics as well.
**'''Click''' to expand for a more detailed explanation:
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==Explanation==
*Most prominently are the four comics directly named after four rovers:
**{{w|Spirit (rover)|Spirit}} (active from 2004-2010) in [[695: Spirit]],
**{{w|Opportunity (rover)|Opportunity}} (active from 2004-2018) in [[1504: Opportunity]] and
**{{w|Curiosity (rover)|Curiosity}}  (active from 2012 to present) in [[1091: Curiosity]]
**{{w|Perseverance (rover)|Perseverance}} (landed on 2021-02-18 the day before the release of the comic) in [[2427: Perseverance Microphones]].
***This rover was also the subject of the comic the day after in [[2428: Mars Landing Video]]
*Also a fifth American rover {{w|Sojourner (rover)|Sojourner}} (only active less than 3 months in 1997) has been mentioned only in the title text of [[1585: Similarities]] and appeared in [[2433: Mars Rovers]].
*In [[665: Prudence]] has a Narnia probe which is a rower looking just like the Mars rovers Spirit/Opportunity (as he drew them in later comic) is shown.
*In [[681: Gravity Wells]] (released in 2009) one of the twin rowers Spirit/Opportunity is shown on the zoom in on Mars.
*In [[1428: Move Fast and Break Things]] driving a Mars rover is one of the jobs [[Cueball]] has lost.
*In [[1461: Payloads]] both Opportunity and Curiosity are mentioned in the chart.
*In [[1436: Orb Hammer]] this part of the title text ''...watch hammers hold themselves and hit rocks for us'' is a direct reference to the Mars Rovers, but they cannot be mentioned by name, as this is a comic with [[:Category: Simplified language|Simplified language]].
*In [[1613: The Three Laws of Robotics]] a Mars rover, looking like Curiosity, declines when [[Megan]] orders it to go explore Mars.
* In [[1663: Garden]] a [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/3/3f/1663_garden_One_color_Between_orange_red_and_red_First_thing_Mars_rover.png mars rover can be grown] under the right orange (Mars colored) light.
*In [[1757: November 2016]] Opportunity is mentioned.
*In [[2439: Solar System Cartogram]] the active Mars Rovers where subject of the title text, although they where not mentioned by name. It would have been Curiosity and Perseverance at the time of that comics release.
*Mars rovers also feature prominently in the book ''[[Thing Explainer]]'':
**Most prominently the Curiosity rover is explained in the ''Red world space car'' section (the fourth explanation).
***It is also shown inside the very last explanation of Sky Scrapers: ''Sky Toucher'', where it finds that there once was running water in a bathroom sink.
***And in the ''The pieces everything is made of'' about the {{w|Periodic table}} the entry for {{w|Plutonium}} shows the rower once more as one of the less dangerous isotopes of plutonium is used as en energy source in the rower. This was for instance mentioned/used in [[1536: The Martian|The Martian]].
**Finally all rovers (and all other Mars space probes and landers) are displayed on/around Mars in the description of the Solar system in ''Worlds around the Sun''.
***Spirit is called ''Good Feelings car''.
***Opportunity is called ''Good Chances car''.
***Curiosity is called ''The Feeling of Wanting to Know Things car'' with the following written below the name: (the red world space car).
***Sojourner, which means "traveler", is called ''Road Taker''. It was part of the Mars Pathfinder expedition, {{w|Mars Pathfinder}} being the stationary part which is thus called ''Road Finder'' in the book.
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