Steve Squyres

Steve Squyres served as the Principal Investigator for NASA's Mars Exploration Rover (MER) mission, which sent the Spirit and Opportunity rovers to Mars. He led the science team responsible for designing the rovers' instrument suites and defining their research objectives. Squyres is a professor of astronomy at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York.

Spirit landed on January 4, 2004, and operated until March 2010, while Opportunity landed on January 25, 2004, and continued operating until June 2018. Both rovers vastly exceeded their planned 90-day mission duration. Opportunity's mission lasted nearly 15 years and covered over 28 miles of Martian terrain.

The Spirit and Opportunity rovers found compelling evidence that liquid water once existed on the Martian surface in the distant past. Opportunity discovered hematite concretions nicknamed 'blueberries' and sedimentary layering consistent with formation in water. These findings fundamentally reshaped the understanding of Mars's geological and potentially biological history.

Beyond MER, Steve Squyres has participated in multiple NASA planetary science missions and advisory roles. He served as a scientific investigator on missions including the Cassini mission to Saturn and the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. He has also been involved in NASA advisory committees shaping future planetary exploration priorities.