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:
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed leftAlign" style="width:100%">
<br>

==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 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.
*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.
</div>
<br>

[[Category:Robots]]
[[Category:Space probes]]
[[Category:Space]]
[[Category:Comics by topic]]