A fond farewell to 鈥榯he little rover that could鈥�
NASA's Opportunity rover has provided scientists with 15 years worth of data. But more than that,聽鈥淥ppy became a beloved and uniting symbol of human tenacity, curiosity, endeavour.鈥�
NASA's Opportunity rover has provided scientists with 15 years worth of data. But more than that,聽鈥淥ppy became a beloved and uniting symbol of human tenacity, curiosity, endeavour.鈥�
The mission was supposed to last just 90 days. But NASA鈥檚 Opportunity rover defied expectations, continuing to explore Martian craters, climb mountains, and make ground-breaking discoveries for 15 years.
When NASA engineers finally said goodbye this week, they issued a farewell more befitting of a colleague than a tool.
鈥淓ven though it鈥檚 a machine and we鈥檙e saying goodbye,鈥� said project manager John Callas, 鈥渋t鈥檚 still very hard and very poignant.鈥�
Opportunity鈥檚 long life changed how scientists and engineers approach rover missions, setting the stage for the Curiosity, InSight, and upcoming Mars 2020 rovers. Planetary scientists can now roam much farther afield through the eyes of these mechanical envoys.
Known fondly as 鈥淥ppy鈥� and 鈥渢he little rover that could,鈥� the golf-cart sized rover became a source of delight and inspiration for many Earthlings, even beyond the planetary science community.
鈥淭he little rover that could has done something more powerful than we could have imagined in 2004,鈥� astrophysicist 聽Catherine Qualtrough tweeted. 鈥淥ppy became a beloved and uniting symbol of human tenacity, curiosity, endeavour. You鈥檒l be missed little rover friend.鈥�
This column first appeared in the Feb 14, 2019 issue of the Monitor's Science & Nature Newsletter. Click here to subscribe to any of the Monitor's free newsletters.