Mars 2003 rover. Computer illustration of the Mars 2003 rover studying a rock (bottom right corner). It is pointing its arm (grey/gold, centre) towards the rock so that it may be examined by the Microscopic Imager. This instrument will study the grains in rocks and soils to provide information on their formation and composition. The rover will also study the history of the Martian climate and hunt for evidence of ancient water. It will travel up to 100 metres in each Martian day (sol; 24 hours 37 minutes). It is hoped it will operate for over 90 sols. This rover is being built for NASA at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California, USA.