NASA's twin Mars rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, have now spent nine years on the surface of Mars. CREDIT: NASA/JPL NASA's Opportunity Mars rover is poised to break the distance record for off-planet driving, but any celebration of this exploration milestone will have to wait until scientists figure out exactly what the record is. The all-time mark is held by the Soviet Union's remote-controlled Lunokhod 2 rover, which traveled about 23 miles (37 kilometers) on the moon back in 1973. Opportunity is breathing down Lunokhod 2's neck, having racked up 22.75 miles (36.61 km) on Mars since touching down in January 2004. But it's unclear exactly how much farther Opportunity needs...
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