Today in History: January 25, NASA Opportunity rover lands on Mars

Today is Saturday, Jan. 25, the 25th day of 2025. There are 340 days left in the year.

Today in history:

On Jan. 25, 2004, NASA’s Opportunity rover landed on Mars and sent its first pictures of the planet to Earth; originally planned as a 90-day mission, the rover remained operational for over 15 years, travelling a total of 28 miles across the planet’s surface.

Also on this date:

In 1924, the first Winter Olympic Games opened in Chamonix (shah-moh-NEE’), France.

In 1945, the World War II Battle of the Bulge ended as the German army concluded its final offensive on the Western Front; approximately 19,000 US soldiers were killed during the five-week campaign.

In 1945, Grand Rapids, Michigan, became the first city to add fluoride to its public water supply.

In 1961, President John F. Kennedy held the first live televised presidential news conference.

In 1971, Charles Manson and three of his followers were convicted in Los Angeles of murder and conspiracy in the 1969 slayings of seven people, including actor Sharon Tate.

In 2011, Egyptians began a nationwide uprising that forced longtime autocrat Hosni Mubarak to step down amid the Arab Spring uprisings that swept the Middle East and North Africa.

In 2021, President Joe Biden signed an order reversing a Pentagon policy that largely barred transgender people from military service.

In 2022, the Navy said it had discharged 23 active-duty sailors for refusing the coronavirus vaccine; it marked the first time the Navy had thrown currently-serving sailors out of the military over the mandatory shots.

Today’s birthdays: Football Hall of Famer Carl Eller is 83. Actor Leigh Taylor-Young is 80. Actor Jenifer Lewis is 68. Hockey Hall of Famer Chris Chelios is 63. Actor Ana Ortiz is 54. Actor Mia Kirshner is 50. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is 47. Soccer manager and former player Xavi is 45. Singer-songwriter Alicia Keys is 44. Football Hall of Famer Patrick Willis is 40. Actor-singer Ariana DeBose is 34.

By The Associated Press