The longest-enduring extraterrestrial scientific mission has sadly come to an end, as NASA's Opportunity Rover has finally stopped operating more than 14 years beyond it's expected lifespan. Launched in conjunction with the identical Spirit Rover (which became mired in sand and then ceased functioning in 2011) the Opportunity Rover covered more than 30 miles of Mars, taking hundreds of thousands of photos, samplings, and readings which have helped shape our understanding about Mars, it's history, and engineering reliable things to operate in harsh conditions. This leaves the much larger and more modern Curiosity Rover alone on Mars to continue the ongoing mission to study the planet, and prepare a solid understanding of it for future human visitors.
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RIP Opportunity Rover | Forum
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Maklarr4000
Feb 14 '19
I remember watching the launch at a party when I was in school. It's kind of mind blowing to think that it lasted that long, and rally kinda sad thinking that it's not still out there doing it's thing. NASA has stated they're launching another rover next year (the Mars 2020 Rover) and with China plotting even more missions all over the place it's unlikely the Curiosity rover will be alone on Mars for long.
The Internet is still pretty bummed out about it, we sure love that little robot!
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