Mars Exploration Rover 25, 2011, bringing the elapsed mission time to 6 years 2 months 19 days, or over 25 times the original planned mission duration. In recognition of the vast amount of scientific information amassed by both rovers, two asteroids have been named in their honor: 37452 Spirit and 39382 Opportunity. The mission is managed for NASA by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which designed, built, and is operating the rovers. On January 24, 2014, NASA reported that current studies by the remaining rover "Opportunity" as well as by the newer Mars Science Laboratory rover "Curiosity" will now be searching for evidence of
Gliese 687 Gliese 687 Gliese 687, or GJ 687 "(Gliese–Jahreiß 687)" is a red dwarf in the constellation Draco. This is one of the closest stars to the Sun and lies at an approximate distance of less than 15 light years. Even though it is close by, it has a magnitude of about 9, so it can only be seen through a moderately sized telescope. Gliese 687 has a high proper motion, advancing 1.304 arcseconds per year across the sky. It has a net relative velocity of about 39 km/s. It is known to have a Neptune-mass planet. Gliese 687 has about