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January 15, 2004 We've done it. Spirit is on Mars. We've got six wheels in the dirt now, and we're ready to roll.
I wish there were some way that I could find the words to describe how a moment like this feels, but I can't. I sit here tonight, after an experience like what we've just been through, and a thousand images and feelings go through my mind. The exhilaration of NASA telling us six years ago that we could go to Mars, followed by the shock of watching the missions in line in front of us fail and our own mission get cancelled. Our amazement as brilliant JPL engineers found an approach that might get us to Mars anyway. The horrors of ripped parachutes and burst airbags, and the times when it looked like only a miracle could get us down onto the martian surface. The joy and nervous tension of launch. And then, of course, the "six minutes of terror" that got us down onto the martian surface for real.
All of that is behind us now, and the years of work by the thousands of people who made this mission possible have finally paid off. Spirit is in her native habitat at last, and we're ready to begin exploring Gusev crater. For all of us who have had the honor of being part of this, it has been one of the greatest experiences of our lives. And for all of you who made it possible, with your tax dollars and your support, we're going to do the very best we can to make this mission worth your investment and your trust.
And, check this out: We get to do it again! Opportunity lands at Meridiani Planum just nine days from now.
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