NASA rover finally bites the dust on Mars after 15 years

(14 Feb 2019) It was on 7 July 2003, that NASA's Opportunity rover departed Earth, on its way to the Red Planet. The rover lifted off in a cloud of steam aboard a Delta II Heavy rocket. It departed Earth a month after its sister rover, Spirit. The two slow-moving, golf cart-size rovers landed on opposite sides of the planet in 2004 for a mission meant to last 90 sols, or Mars days, which are 39 minutes longer than Earth days. Both were intended to roll across the rocky red soil of Mars and send back data that could help scientists determine whether there was ever enough water on the planet to support life. There were cheers in January 2004, when Opportunity landed on Mars, arriving on the Red Planet exactly three weeks after its identical twin set down. Just three days later, NASA released the first color photographs taken by Opportunity, showing layers of Martian rock. The horizontally-striped and fractured slabs of bedrock were just a short drive from where the six-wheeled robot sat atop its lander. There were cheers again, just days later, as Opportunity successfully rolled off its lander onto the rusty soil of Mars. The rover also sent back images, as scientists announced the discovery of an iron-rich mineral that forms in liquid water. A picture, taken by Opportunity's rear hazard camera, showed the rover's empty lander and a parallel set of tracks leading away from it. Scientists at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory erupted in cheers as the photograph appeared on a screen in mission control. By March 2004, scientists were drawing conclusions from data gathered by Opportunity. They said Mars was once soaked with water, enough to support life in a "good, habitable environment," after reviewing data from Opportunity. A study of a fine, layered rock by the rover detected evidence of sulfates and other minerals that form in the presence of water. Both rovers were designed to operate for just 90 days. But in April 2004, NASA formally extended its ongoing mission to Mars, giving both rovers - Spirit and Opportunity - another five months to search for evidence the planet once was a wetter place hospitable to life. That extension would continue to grow. Spirit got stuck in soft Martian dirt in 2009, NASA eventually gave up trying to free it. Opportunity outlived its twin by eight years and set endurance and distance records that could stand for decades. "It lasted 14 and a half years," says project manager, John Callas. "We went over 45 kilometers, more than a marathon's distance and we lasted more than 5,000 days on the surface of Mars. It's just incredible for what was to be a 90-day mission." "Since January of 2004, there's been a team of people that go to work every day on Mars. They go to work operating the rover that is exploring Mars. "And so, in a sense, they've become Martians and the surface of Mars has now become our neighborhood. It's a place where we work. It's familiar to us. "And so, we now have to say, when we say our world, it actually has to include the surface of Mars now. So, this rover - these rovers, Spirit and Opportunity - have made our world a bigger place and that's I think one of its great legacies." Opportunity was exploring Mars' Perseverance Valley, fittingly, when the fiercest dust storm in decades hit and contact was lost. The storm was so intense that it darkened the sky for months, preventing sunlight from reaching the rover's solar panels. When the sky finally cleared, Opportunity remained silent, its internal clock possibly so scrambled that it no longer knew when to sleep or wake up to receive commands. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter: https://twitter.com/AP_Archive Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/APArchives ​​ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/APNews/ You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/c86018cf4d95f88f71f498027cd63d2d

Added 26 Jun 2026