Opportunity (rover)
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''Opportunity'', also known as MER-B (Mars Exploration Rover – B) or MER-1, is a
robotic Robotics is an interdisciplinarity, interdisciplinary branch of computer science and engineering. Robotics involves design, construction, operation, and use of robots. The goal of robotics is to design machines that can help and assist human ...
rover Rover may refer to: People * Constance Rover (1910–2005), English historian * Jolanda de Rover (born 1963), Dutch swimmer * Rover Thomas (c. 1920–1998), Indigenous Australian artist Places * Rover, Arkansas, US * Rover, Missouri, US ...
that was active on
Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury (planet), Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Mars (mythology), Roman god of war. Mars is a terr ...
from 2004 until 2018. ''Opportunity'' was operational on Mars for sols (). Launched on July 7, 2003, as part of
NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...
's
Mars Exploration Rover NASA's Mars Exploration Rover (MER) mission was a robotic space mission involving two Mars rovers, ''Spirit (rover), Spirit'' and ''Opportunity (rover), Opportunity'', exploring the planet Mars. It began in 2003 with the launch of the two rover ...
program, it landed in
Meridiani Planum The Meridiani Planum (alternately Meridiani plain, Meridiani plains, Terra Meridiani, or Terra Meridiani plains) is either a large plain straddling the equator of Mars and covered with a vast number of spherules containing a lot of iron oxide or ...
on January 25, 2004, three weeks after its twin, ''
Spirit Spirit or spirits may refer to: Liquor and other volatile liquids * Spirits, a.k.a. liquor, distilled alcoholic drinks * Spirit or tincture, an extract of plant or animal material dissolved in ethanol * Volatile (especially flammable) liquids, ...
'' (MER-A), touched down on the other side of the planet. With a planned 90- sol duration of activity (slightly less than 92.5 Earth days), ''Spirit'' functioned until it got stuck in 2009 and ceased communications in 2010, while ''Opportunity'' was able to stay operational for sols after landing, maintaining its power and key systems through continual recharging of its batteries using
solar power Solar power is the conversion of energy from sunlight into electricity, either directly using photovoltaics (PV) or indirectly using concentrated solar power. Photovoltaic cells convert light into an electric current using the photovoltaic e ...
, and hibernating during events such as dust storms to save power. This careful operation allowed ''Opportunity'' to operate for 57 times its designed lifespan, exceeding the initial plan by (in Earth time). By June 10, 2018, when it last contacted NASA, the rover had traveled a distance of . Mission highlights included the initial 90-sol mission, finding
meteorite A meteorite is a solid piece of debris from an object, such as a comet, asteroid, or meteoroid, that originates in outer space and survives its passage through the atmosphere to reach the surface of a planet or Natural satellite, moon. When the ...
s such as
Heat Shield Rock Heat Shield Rock is a basketball-sized iron-nickel meteorite found on the Meridiani Planum plain of Mars by the Mars rover ''Opportunity'' in January 2005. Informally referred to as "Heat Shield Rock" by the Opportunity research team, the m ...
(Meridiani Planum meteorite), and over two years of exploring and studying
Victoria crater Victoria is an impact crater on Mars located at 2.05°S, 5.50°W in the Meridiani Planum extraterrestrial plain, lying situated within the Margaritifer Sinus quadrangle (MC-19) region of the planet Mars. This crater was first visited by the Mars E ...
. The rover survived moderate dust storms and in 2011 reached
Endeavour crater Endeavour is an impact crater located in the Meridiani Planum extraterrestrial plain within the Margaritifer Sinus quadrangle (MC-19) region of the planet Mars. Endeavour is about in diameter. Using ''Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter'' data, phy ...
, which has been considered as a "second landing site." The ''Opportunity'' mission is considered one of NASA's most successful ventures. Due to the planetary 2018 dust storm on Mars, ''Opportunity'' ceased communications on June 10 and entered
hibernation Hibernation is a state of minimal activity and metabolic depression undergone by some animal species. Hibernation is a seasonal heterothermy characterized by low body-temperature, slow breathing and heart-rate, and low metabolic rate. It most ...
on June 12, 2018. It was hoped it would reboot once the weather cleared, but it did not, suggesting either a catastrophic failure or that a layer of dust had covered its solar panels. NASA hoped to re-establish contact with the rover, citing a recurring windy period which was forecast for November 2018 to January 2019, that could potentially clean off its solar panels. On February 13, 2019, NASA officials declared that the ''Opportunity'' mission was complete, after the spacecraft had failed to respond to over 1,000 signals sent since August 2018.


Mission overview

Collectively, the ''Opportunity'' and ''Spirit'' rovers were part of the
Mars Exploration Rover NASA's Mars Exploration Rover (MER) mission was a robotic space mission involving two Mars rovers, ''Spirit (rover), Spirit'' and ''Opportunity (rover), Opportunity'', exploring the planet Mars. It began in 2003 with the launch of the two rover ...
program in the long-term
Mars Exploration Program Mars Exploration Program (MEP) is a long-term effort to explore the planet Mars, funded and led by NASA. Formed in 1993, MEP has made use of orbital spacecraft, landers, and Mars rovers to explore the possibilities of life on Mars, as well as ...
. The Mars Exploration Program's four principal goals were to determine if the potential for life exists on Mars (in particular, whether recoverable water may be found on Mars), to characterize the Mars climate and its geology, and then to prepare for a potential human mission to Mars. The Mars Exploration Rovers were to travel across the Martian surface and perform periodic geologic analyses to determine if water ever existed on Mars as well as the types of minerals available, as well as to corroborate data taken by the
Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter ''Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter'' (MRO) is a spacecraft designed to study the geology and climate of Mars, provide reconnaissance of future landing sites, and relay data from surface missions back to Earth. It was launched on August 12, 2005, an ...
(MRO). ''Spirit'' and ''Opportunity'' were launched a month apart, on June 10 and July 8, 2003, and both reached the Martian surface by January 2004. Both rovers were designed with an expected 90 sols (92 Earth days) lifetime, but each lasted much longer than expected. ''Spirit'' mission lasted 20 times longer than its expected lifetime, and its mission was declared ended on May 25, 2011, after it got stuck in soft sand and expended its power reserves trying to free itself. ''Opportunity'' lasted 55 times longer than its 90 sol planned lifetime, operating for days from landing to mission end. An archive of weekly updates on the rover's status can be found at the ''Opportunity'' Update Archive. From its initial landing, by chance, into an
impact crater An impact crater is a circular depression in the surface of a solid astronomical object formed by the hypervelocity impact of a smaller object. In contrast to volcanic craters, which result from explosion or internal collapse, impact craters ...
amidst an otherwise generally flat plain, ''Opportunity'' successfully investigated regolith and rock samples and took panoramic photos of its landing site. Its sampling allowed NASA scientists to make hypotheses concerning the presence of
hematite Hematite (), also spelled as haematite, is a common iron oxide compound with the formula, Fe2O3 and is widely found in rocks and soils. Hematite crystals belong to the rhombohedral lattice system which is designated the alpha polymorph of . ...
and past presence of water on the surface of Mars. Following this, it was directed to travel across the surface of Mars to investigate another crater site, Endurance crater, which it investigated from June to December 2004. Subsequently, ''Opportunity'' examined the impact site of its own
heat shield In thermodynamics, heat is defined as the form of energy crossing the boundary of a thermodynamic system by virtue of a temperature difference across the boundary. A thermodynamic system does not ''contain'' heat. Nevertheless, the term is al ...
and discovered an intact
meteorite A meteorite is a solid piece of debris from an object, such as a comet, asteroid, or meteoroid, that originates in outer space and survives its passage through the atmosphere to reach the surface of a planet or Natural satellite, moon. When the ...
, now known as
Heat Shield Rock Heat Shield Rock is a basketball-sized iron-nickel meteorite found on the Meridiani Planum plain of Mars by the Mars rover ''Opportunity'' in January 2005. Informally referred to as "Heat Shield Rock" by the Opportunity research team, the m ...
, on the surface of Mars. From late April to early June 2005, ''Opportunity'' was perilously lodged in a sand dune, with several wheels buried in the sand. Over a six-week period, Earth-based physical simulations were performed to decide how best to extract the rover from its position without risking its permanent immobilization. Successful maneuvering a few centimeters at a time eventually freed the rover, which resumed its travels. ''Opportunity'' was directed to proceed in a southerly direction to Erebus crater, a large, shallow, partially buried crater and a stopover on the way south towards
Victoria crater Victoria is an impact crater on Mars located at 2.05°S, 5.50°W in the Meridiani Planum extraterrestrial plain, lying situated within the Margaritifer Sinus quadrangle (MC-19) region of the planet Mars. This crater was first visited by the Mars E ...
, between October 2005 and March 2006. It experienced some mechanical problems with its robotic arm. In late September 2006, ''Opportunity'' reached Victoria crater and explored along the rim in a clockwise direction. In June 2007 it returned to Duck Bay, its original arrival point at Victoria crater; in September 2007 it entered the crater to begin a detailed study. In August 2008, ''Opportunity'' left Victoria crater for
Endeavour crater Endeavour is an impact crater located in the Meridiani Planum extraterrestrial plain within the Margaritifer Sinus quadrangle (MC-19) region of the planet Mars. Endeavour is about in diameter. Using ''Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter'' data, phy ...
, which it reached on August 9, 2011. Here at the rim of the Endeavour crater, the rover moved around a geographic feature named ''Cape York''. The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter had detected
phyllosilicate Silicate minerals are rock-forming minerals made up of silicate groups. They are the largest and most important class of minerals and make up approximately 90 percent of Earth's crust. In mineralogy, silica (silicon dioxide, ) is usually consid ...
s there, and the rover analyzed the rocks with its instruments to check this sighting on the ground. This structure was analyzed in depth until summer 2013. In May 2013 the rover was heading south to a hill named ''
Solander Point Solander Point is at the north end of the west-southwestern ridgeline of Endeavour crater on the planet Mars. It is named after the Swedish scientist Daniel Solander, who was the first university-educated scientist to set foot on Australian soi ...
''. ''Opportunity''s total odometry by June 10, 2018 (sol 5111), was , while the dust factor was 10.8. Since January 2013, the solar array dust factor (one of the determinants of solar power production) varied from a relatively dusty 0.467 on December 5, 2013 (sol 3507), to a relatively clean 0.964 on May 13, 2014 (sol 3662). In December 2014, NASA reported that ''Opportunity'' was suffering from "
amnesia Amnesia is a deficit in memory caused by brain damage or disease,Gazzaniga, M., Ivry, R., & Mangun, G. (2009) Cognitive Neuroscience: The biology of the mind. New York: W.W. Norton & Company. but it can also be caused temporarily by the use ...
" events in which the rover failed to write data, e.g.
telemetry Telemetry is the in situ data collection, collection of measurements or other data at remote points and their automatic data transmission, transmission to receiving equipment (telecommunication) for monitoring. The word is derived from the Gr ...
information, to
non-volatile memory Non-volatile memory (NVM) or non-volatile storage is a type of computer memory that can retain stored information even after power is removed. In contrast, volatile memory needs constant power in order to retain data. Non-volatile memory typic ...
. The hardware failure was believed to be due to an age-related fault in one of the rover's seven memory banks. As a result, NASA had aimed to force the rover's software to ignore the failed memory bank; amnesia events continued to occur, however, which eventually resulted in vehicle resets. In light of this, on Sol 4027 (May 23, 2015), the rover was configured to operate in RAM-only mode, completely avoiding the use of non-volatile memory for storage.


End of mission

In early June 2018, a large planetary-scale dust storm developed, and within a few days the rover's solar panels were not generating enough power to maintain communications, with the last contact on June 10, 2018. NASA stated that they did not expect to resume communication until after the storm subsided, but the rover kept silent even after the storm ended in early October, suggesting either a catastrophic failure or a layer of dust covering its solar panels.Opportunity Rover Still Silent on Mars, 4 Months After Epic Dust Storm Began
. Mike Wall, ''Space.com''. October 12, 2018.
The team remained hopeful that a windy period between November 2018 and January 2019 might clear the dust from its solar panels, as had happened before. Wind was detected nearby on January 8, and on January 26 the mission team announced a plan to begin broadcasting a new set of commands to the rover in case its radio receiver failed. On February 12, 2019, past and present members of the mission team gathered in JPL's
Space Flight Operations Facility The Space Flight Operations Facility (SFOF) is a building containing a control room and related computing and communications equipment areas at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. NASA's Deep Space Network is operated from th ...
to watch final commands being transmitted to Opportunity via the 70 meter dish of the
Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex The Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex (GDSCC), commonly called the Goldstone Observatory, is a satellite ground station located in Fort Irwin in the U.S. state of California. Operated by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), its main ...
in California. Following 25 minutes of transmission of the final 4 sets of commands, communication attempts with the rover were handed off to Canberra, Australia. More than 835 recovery commands were transmitted since losing signal in June 2018 to the end of January 2019 with over 1000 recovery commands transmitted before February 13, 2019. NASA officials held a press conference on February 13 to declare an official end to the mission. NASA associate administrator Thomas Zurbuchen said, "It is therefore that I am standing here with a deep sense of appreciation and gratitude that I declare the ''Opportunity'' mission is complete." As NASA ended their attempts to contact the rover, the last data sent was the song " I'll Be Seeing You" performed by
Billie Holiday Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan; April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959) was an American jazz and swing music singer. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and music partner, Lester Young, Holiday had an innovative influence on jazz music and pop si ...
. Assets that had been needed to support ''Opportunity'' were transitioned to support the Mars rovers ''
Curiosity Curiosity (from Latin '' cūriōsitās'', from ''cūriōsus'' "careful, diligent, curious", akin to ''cura'' "care") is a quality related to inquisitive thinking such as exploration, investigation, and learning, evident by observation in humans ...
'' and ''
Perseverance Perseverance may refer to: Behaviour * Psychological resilience * Perseverance of the saints, a Protestant Christian teaching * Assurance (theology) Geography * Perseverance, Queensland, a locality in Australia * Perseverance Island, Seychelles ...
''. The final communication from the rover came on June 10, 2018 (sol 5111) from Perseverance Valley, and indicated a solar array energy production of 22
Watt-hour A kilowatt-hour ( unit symbol: kW⋅h or kW h; commonly written as kWh) is a unit of energy: one kilowatt of power for one hour. In terms of SI derived units with special names, it equals 3.6 megajoules (MJ). Kilowatt-hours are a common bi ...
s for the sol, and the highest atmospheric opacity (tau) ever measured on Mars: 10.8.


Objectives

The scientific objectives of the Mars Exploration Rover mission were to: * Search for and characterize a variety of rocks and regolith that hold clues to past water activity. In particular, samples sought include those that have minerals deposited by water-related processes such as
precipitation In meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls under gravitational pull from clouds. The main forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, sleet, snow, ice pellets, graupel and hail. ...
,
evaporation Evaporation is a type of vaporization that occurs on the surface of a liquid as it changes into the gas phase. High concentration of the evaporating substance in the surrounding gas significantly slows down evaporation, such as when humidi ...
, sedimentary cementation or
hydrothermal activity Hydrothermal circulation in its most general sense is the circulation of hot water (Ancient Greek ὕδωρ, ''water'',Liddell, H.G. & Scott, R. (1940). ''A Greek-English Lexicon. revised and augmented throughout by Sir Henry Stuart Jones. with th ...
. * Determine the distribution and composition of minerals, rocks, and regolith surrounding the landing sites. * Determine what geologic processes have shaped the local terrain and influenced the chemistry. Such processes could include water or wind erosion, sedimentation, hydrothermal mechanisms, volcanism, and cratering. * Perform calibration and validation of surface observations made by
Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter ''Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter'' (MRO) is a spacecraft designed to study the geology and climate of Mars, provide reconnaissance of future landing sites, and relay data from surface missions back to Earth. It was launched on August 12, 2005, an ...
instruments. This will help determine the accuracy and effectiveness of various instruments that survey Martian geology from orbit. * Search for iron-containing minerals, identify and quantify relative amounts of specific mineral types that contain water or were formed in water, such as iron-bearing carbonates. * Characterize the
mineralogy Mineralogy is a subject of geology specializing in the scientific study of the chemistry, crystal structure, and physical (including optical) properties of minerals and mineralized artifacts. Specific studies within mineralogy include the proces ...
and textures of rocks and regolith and determine the processes that created them. * Search for geological clues to the environmental conditions that existed when liquid water was present. * Assess whether those environments were conducive to life. During the next two decades, NASA will continue to conduct missions with other spacecraft to address whether life ever arose on Mars. The search begins with determining whether the Martian environment was ever suitable for life. Life, as we understand it, requires water, so the history of
water on Mars Almost all water on Mars today exists as ice, though it also exists in small quantities as vapor in the atmosphere. What was thought to be low-volume liquid brines in shallow Martian soil, also called recurrent slope lineae, may be grains of ...
is critical to finding out if the Martian environment was ever conducive to life. Although the
Mars Exploration Rover NASA's Mars Exploration Rover (MER) mission was a robotic space mission involving two Mars rovers, ''Spirit (rover), Spirit'' and ''Opportunity (rover), Opportunity'', exploring the planet Mars. It began in 2003 with the launch of the two rover ...
s did not have the ability to detect life directly, they offered very important information on the habitability of the environment in the planet's history.


Design and construction

''Spirit'' and ''Opportunity'' are twin rovers, each a six-wheeled,
solar-powered Solar power is the conversion of energy from sunlight into electricity, either directly using photovoltaics (PV) or indirectly using concentrated solar power. Photovoltaic cells convert light into an electric current using the photovoltaic ef ...
robot standing high, wide, and long and weighing . Six wheels on a
rocker-bogie The rocker-bogie system is the suspension arrangement developed in 1988 for use in NASA's Mars rover ''Sojourner'', and which has since become NASA's favored design for rovers. It has been used in the 2003 Mars Exploration Rover mission robots ' ...
system enable mobility. Each wheel has its own motor, the vehicle is steered at front and rear and was designed to operate safely at tilts of up to 30 degrees. Maximum speed is although average speed was about a sixth of this (). Both ''Spirit'' and ''Opportunity'' have pieces of the fallen
World Trade Center World Trade Centers are sites recognized by the World Trade Centers Association. World Trade Center may refer to: Buildings * List of World Trade Centers * World Trade Center (2001–present), a building complex that includes five skyscrapers, a ...
's metal on them that were "turned into shields to protect cables on the drilling mechanisms". Solar arrays generate about 140 watts for up to fourteen hours per sol, while rechargeable
lithium ion batteries A lithium-ion or Li-ion battery is a type of rechargeable battery which uses the reversible reduction of lithium ions to store energy. It is the predominant battery type used in portable consumer electronics and electric vehicles. It also sees ...
stored energy for use at night. ''Opportunity''s onboard computer uses a 20 MHz
RAD6000 The RAD6000 radiation-hardened single-board computer, based on the IBM RISC Single Chip CPU, was manufactured by IBM Federal Systems. IBM Federal Systems was sold to Loral, and by way of acquisition, ended up with Lockheed Martin and is ...
CPU with 128 MB of DRAM, 3 MB of EEPROM, and 256 MB of flash memory. The rover's
operating temperature An operating temperature is the allowable temperature range of the local ambient environment at which an electrical or mechanical device operates. The device will operate effectively within a specified temperature range which varies based on the de ...
ranges from and radioisotope heaters provide a base level of heating, assisted by electrical heaters when necessary. A gold film and a layer of silica
aerogel Aerogels are a class of synthetic porous ultralight material derived from a gel, in which the liquid component for the gel has been replaced with a gas, without significant collapse of the gel structure. The result is a solid with extremely low ...
provides insulation. Communications depend on an omnidirectional low-gain antenna communicating at a low data rate and a steerable high-gain antenna, both in direct contact with Earth. A low gain antenna is also used to relay data to spacecraft orbiting Mars. Fixed science/engineering instruments included: * Panoramic Camera (Pancam) – examines the texture, color, mineralogy, and structure of the local terrain. * Navigation Camera (Navcam) – monochrome with a higher field of view but lower resolution, for navigation and driving. * Miniature Thermal Emission Spectrometer (Mini-TES) – identifies promising rocks and regolith for closer examination, and determines the processes that formed them. *
Hazcam Hazcams (short for hazard avoidance cameras) are photographic cameras mounted on the front and rear of NASA's ''Spirit'', ''Opportunity'', ''Curiosity'' and ''Perseverance'' rover missions to Mars and on the lower front portion of Chinese ...
s, two B&W cameras with 120 degree field of view, that provide additional data about the rover's surroundings. The rover arm holds the following instruments: * Mössbauer spectrometer (MB)
MIMOS II MIMOS II is the miniaturised Mössbauer spectrometer, developed by Dr. Göstar Klingelhöfer at the Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz, Germany, that is used on the Mars Exploration Rovers '' Spirit'' and '' Opportunity'' for close-up investiga ...
– used for close-up investigations of the mineralogy of iron-bearing rocks and regolith. *
Alpha particle X-ray spectrometer :''APXS is also an abbreviation for APache eXtenSion tool, an extension for Apache web servers.'' An alpha particle X-ray spectrometer (APXS) is a spectrometer that analyses the chemical element composition of a sample from scattered alpha part ...
(APXS) – close-up analysis of the abundances of elements that make up rocks and regolith. * Magnets – for collecting magnetic dust particles * Microscopic Imager (MI) – obtains close-up, high-resolution images of rocks and regolith. * Rock Abrasion Tool (RAT) – exposes fresh material for examination by instruments on board. The cameras produce 1024-pixel by 1024-pixel images, the data is compressed with
ICER ICER is a wavelet-based image compression file format used by the NASA Mars rovers. ICER has both lossy and lossless compression modes. The Mars Exploration Rovers ''Spirit'' and ''Opportunity'' both used ICER. Onboard image compression is u ...
, stored, and transmitted later. The rover's name was chosen through a NASA sponsored student essay competition. ''Opportunity'' was 'driven' by several operators throughout its mission, including JPL roboticist
Vandi Verma Vandana "Vandi" Verma is a space roboticist and engineer at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, known for driving the Mars rovers, notably ''Curiosity'' and ''Perseverance'', using software including PLEXIL programming technology that she co-wrote a ...
who also cowrote the
PLEXIL PLEXIL (Plan Execution Interchange Language) is an open source technology for automation, created and currently in development by NASA. Overview PLEXIL is a programming language for representing plans for automation. PLEXIL is used in automati ...
command language used in its software.


Power

The rover uses a combination of solar cells and a rechargeable chemical battery. This class of rover has two rechargeable
lithium batteries Lithium battery may refer to: * Lithium metal battery, a non-rechargeable battery with lithium as an anode ** Rechargeable lithium metal battery, a rechargeable counterpart to the lithium metal battery * Lithium-ion battery, a rechargeable batte ...
, each composed of 8 cells with 8 amp-hour capacity. At the start of the mission the solar panels could provide up to around 900 watt-hours (Wh) to recharge the battery and power system in one Sol, but this could vary due to a variety of factors. In Eagle crater the cells were producing about 840 Wh, but by Sol 319 in December 2004, it had dropped to 730 Wh. Like Earth, Mars has seasonal variations that reduce sunlight during winter. However, since the Martian year is longer than that of the Earth, the seasons fully rotate roughly once every 2 Earth years. By 2016, MER-B had endured seven Martian winters, during which times power levels drop which can mean the rover avoids doing activities that use a lot of power. During its first winter power levels dropped to under 300 Wh per day for two months, but some later winters were not as bad. Another factor that can reduce received power is dust in the atmosphere, especially dust storms. Dust storms have occurred quite frequently when Mars is closest to the Sun. Global dust storms in 2007 reduced power levels for ''Opportunity'' and ''Spirit'' so much they could only run for a few minutes each day. Due to the 2018 dust storms on Mars, ''Opportunity'' entered hibernation mode on June 12, but it remained silent after the storm subsided in early October.


Examples

Examples of watt-hours per sol collected by the rover:


Launch

''Opportunity''s launch was managed by NASA's Launch Services Program. This was the first launch of the
Delta II Delta II was an expendable launch system, originally designed and built by McDonnell Douglas. Delta II was part of the Delta rocket family and entered service in 1989. Delta II vehicles included the Delta 6000, and the two later Delta 7000 va ...
Heavy. The launch period went from June 25 to July 15, 2003. The first launch attempt occurred on June 28, 2003, but the spacecraft launched nine days later on July 7, 2003, due to delays for range safety and winds, then later to replace items on the rocket (insulation and a battery). Each day had two instantaneous launch opportunities. On the day of launch, the launch was delayed to the second opportunity (11:18 p.m. EDT) in order to fix a valve.


Landing

On January 25, 2004 (GMT) (January 24, 2004, PST) the airbag-protected landing craft settled onto the surface of Mars in the
Eagle crater Eagle is a 22-metre long impact crater located on the Meridiani Planum extraterrestrial plain, situated within the Margaritifer Sinus quadrangle (MC-19) portion of the planet Mars. The Opportunity rover, ''Opportunity'' rover came to rest insid ...
.


Heat shield impact site

In late December 2004, ''Opportunity'' reached the impact site of its heat shield, and took a panorama around Sol 325.


Scientific findings

''Opportunity'' has provided substantial evidence in support of the mission's primary scientific goals: to search for and characterize a wide range of
rocks In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks form the Earth's ...
and
regolith Regolith () is a blanket of unconsolidated, loose, heterogeneous superficial deposits covering solid rock. It includes dust, broken rocks, and other related materials and is present on Earth, the Moon, Mars, some asteroids, and other terrestria ...
that hold clues to past water activity on Mars. In addition to investigating the water, ''Opportunity'' has also obtained astronomical observations and atmospheric data.


Honors

Honoring ''Opportunitys great contribution to the exploration of Mars, an
asteroid An asteroid is a minor planet of the inner Solar System. Sizes and shapes of asteroids vary significantly, ranging from 1-meter rocks to a dwarf planet almost 1000 km in diameter; they are rocky, metallic or icy bodies with no atmosphere. ...
was named Opportunity: 39382 Opportunity. The name was proposed by
Ingrid van Houten-Groeneveld Ingrid van Houten-Groeneveld (; 21 October 1921 – 30 March 2015) was a Dutch astronomer. Background In a jointly credited trio with Tom Gehrels and her husband Cornelis Johannes van Houten, she was the discoverer of many thousands of astero ...
who, along with
Cornelis Johannes van Houten Cornelis Johannes van Houten (18 February 1920 – 24 August 2002) was a Dutch astronomer, sometimes referred to as Kees van Houten. Early life and education Born in The Hague, he spent his entire career at Leiden University except for a brief pe ...
and
Tom Gehrels Anton M.J. "Tom" Gehrels (February 21, 1925 – July 11, 2011) was a Dutch–American astronomer, Professor of Planetary Sciences, and Astronomer at the University of Arizona, Tucson. Biography Youth and education Gehrels was born at Haa ...
, discovered the asteroid on September 24, 1960. ''Opportunity''s lander is ''Challenger Memorial Station''. On July 28, 2014, it was announced that ''Opportunity'', having traversed over , had become the rover achieving the longest off-world distance, surpassing the previous record of on the
Moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width of ...
by
Lunokhod 2 ''Lunokhod 2'' (russian: Луноход-2 ("Moonwalker 2"), also known as Аппарат 8ЕЛ № 204 ("Device 8EL No. 204")) was the second of two unmanned lunar rovers that landed on the Moon by the Soviet Union as part of the Lunokhod progr ...
. On March 24, 2015, NASA celebrated ''Opportunity'' having traveled the distance of a
marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of , usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There are also wheelchair div ...
race, , from the start of ''Opportunity''s landing and traveling on Mars.


Superlatives


Steepest slope


Highest elevation

On Sol 3894 (January 6, 2015), ''Opportunity'' reached the summit of "Cape Tribulation," which is above "Botany Bay" level and the highest point yet reached by the rover on western rim of Endeavour Crater according to NASA.


Driving distance

Opportunity was the first rover to hit the length of a
marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of , usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There are also wheelchair div ...
(26.2 miles), having taken 11 years and 2 months to clock the distance. The JPL technicians celebrated the occasion by running a race.


Longest traverse

Opportunity held the record for longest distance traversed in a single sol by any rover until February 4, 2022, when Perseverance traversed in one sol.


Images

The rover could take pictures with its different cameras, but only the PanCam camera had the ability to photograph a scene with different color filters. The panorama views are usually built up from PanCam images. By February 3, 2018, ''Opportunity'' had returned 224,642 pictures.


Views


Panoramas

A selection of panoramas from the mission:


Close-up images


From orbit


Area maps


Traverse maps

An example of a rover traverse map featuring a line showing path of the rover, and mission sols, which are Mars days counted from its landing and typical of Mars surface mission time reporting. Topographic lines and various feature names are also common.


Legacy

With word on February 12, 2019, that NASA was likely to conclude the ''Opportunity'' mission, many media outlets and commentators issued statements praising the mission's success and stating their goodbyes to the rover. One journalist, Jacob Margolis, tweeted his translation of the last data transmission sent by ''Opportunity'' on June 10, 2018, as "My battery is low and it's getting dark." The phrase struck a chord with the public, inspiring a period of mourning, artwork, and
tributes A tribute (; from Latin ''tributum'', "contribution") is wealth, often in kind, that a party gives to another as a sign of submission, allegiance or respect. Various ancient states exacted tribute from the rulers of land which the state conqu ...
to the memory of ''Opportunity''. When the quote became widely reported, some news reports mistakenly asserted that the rover sent that exact message in English, resulting in NASA being inundated with additional questions. Margolis wrote a clarifying article on February 16, making it clear he had taken statements from NASA officials who were interpreting the data sent by ''Opportunity'', both on the state of its low power and Mars's high atmospheric opacity, and rephrased them in a poetic manner, never to imply the rover had sent the specific words.


Timeline


Film adaptation

Amazon Studios Amazon Studios is an American television and film producer and distributor that is a subsidiary of Amazon. It specializes in developing television series and distributing and producing films. It was started in late 2010. Content is distributed th ...
announced in March 2021 that it was developing a documentary ''Good Night Oppy'' based on the rover and its prolonged mission. The documentary was directed by
Ryan White Ryan Wayne White (December 6, 1971 – April 8, 1990) was an American teenager from Kokomo, Indiana, who became a national poster child for HIV/AIDS in the United States after his school barred him from attending classes following a diagnos ...
, and included support from JPL and
Industrial Light & Magic Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) is an American motion picture visual effects company that was founded on May 26, 1975 by George Lucas. It is a division of the film production company Lucasfilm, which Lucas founded, and was created when he began pro ...
.


See also

* * * * * * List of surface features of Mars visited by ''Spirit'' and ''Opportunity'' * * ''Perseverance'' (rover) * * ** * * * ''Zhurong'' rover


References


External links


NASA links


NASA/JPL Mission page

Sunrise on Mars – video (02:10)
(
NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...
; November 7, 2018) * End of ''Opportunity'' Mission (February 13, 2019; videos)
(3:52) overview

(59:47) final panel


MSSS and WUSTL links


Finding ''Opportunity'': high-resolution images of landing site (Mars Global Surveyor – Mars Orbiter Camera)

MER Analyst's Notebook
Interactive access to mission data and documentation


Other links


Archive
of MER progress reports by A.J.S. Rayl at planetary.org {{DEFAULTSORT:Opportunity Rover * 2003 robots Margaritifer Sinus quadrangle Mars rovers Missions to Mars Robots of the United States Six-wheeled robots Solar-powered robots Space probes decommissioned in 2019 Space probes launched in 2003 Spacecraft launched by Delta II rockets Derelict landers (spacecraft) Soft landings on Mars 2004 on Mars Mars robots